


Say You Like Me

by kimizomi



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, brief MakiRinPana appearance, hashtag eli is a useless lesbian, side kotoumi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-01 08:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 91,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8616151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimizomi/pseuds/kimizomi
Summary: "When The Sun cards shows for you, it's a sign that soon you are likely to find yourself feeling more free than you have in a while. If you're looking for love—it definitely could be on the horizon for you." Nozomi Toujou has been living alone in different places for almost half of her life. She has grown used to being the new girl in class, she has grown used to the silence and loneliness. When she transfers to Otonokizaka High, she is certain that in a years' time she will no longer be here anymore. Only until she realises that The Sun all along is a blonde-haired Eli Ayase who might actually motivate her to make sure that this transfer will be her last. Story is inspired by the song "Say You Like Me" by We The Kings. Respective chapter titles will be based on the lyric of the song.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note made on 3/1/18: For everyone that is still giving this fic kudos, or even commenting on it even though it is already completed, thank you so much :") I don't deserve all these honestly, but it makes me very happy to know you enjoy my first NozoEli multi-chap fic on here, so thank you so so much once again ♥

 1. She's the girl that no one ever knows

 

September, 2016.

“That should be the last of it.” Nozomi’s mother puts down the cardboard box beside the other unpacked boxes in the living room, which isn’t quite “living” at the moment. It is an empty space, with exception of a couch, coffee table, dining table, and a television.

Nozomi stares at her mother, who is now checking her watch with a hasty expression on her face. She isn’t going to help her unpack.

“Hai, Non-chan, your dad’s waiting for me in the car downstairs. We have to catch our flight soon.” Nozomi’s mother returns her glance to her to speak.

Nozomi sucks in her bottom lip nervously as she knows that this is her mother’s cue to go. Again. Upon seeing her daughter looking so dejected, Nozomi’s mother proceeds to hug her.

“I know this is hard, but this will be the last time you’re moving. Once we are done with work, we will come back and stay with you.” She says while still in their embrace. Nozomi sighs as she reciprocates the hug. _This will never happen…_ She thinks. She will always be alone.

“Have a safe flight mama.” Nozomi says softly. Her mother hugs her one more time before leaving the new apartment, and leaving Nozomi alone, again.

Nozomi sinks into the couch as she looks at the newly furnished 2-room apartment. She scans the dining table, with a slight look of disfavour in her face. What’s the point of a dining table with two chairs when no one is going to be here anyway?

Nozomi is 16, and for almost half of her life she has grown used to living on her own. She has grown used to being the new girl who has to introduce herself to her class, only to realise that a year later she would transfer school again. She has grown used to the silence, and the loneliness. She shifts her glance to the unpacked cupboard boxes by the side of the room. What’s the point of unpacking them anyway? It will only be a matter of time before she moves away again.

With another sigh, Nozomi pulls the straps of her bag on the couch to bring it closer to her. She unzips it and carefully takes out her deck of tarot cards. _I wonder why I still bother to do my readings… The results are the same anyway…_ In spite of that, she asks to herself, “is this really my going to be my last time shifting houses?” She continues to shuffle her cards and cuts the deck into two, taking out the first card from the left deck. The card reveals to be “The Sun.”

 _This is weird…._ Nozomi thinks. This is an unusually optimistic card. Things are going to go well for her, there could be a chance to fall in love, and she’s going to feel free and much happier. This is a mistake, it cannot be. This card is too good to be true. Nozomi puts it down and goes on to the next deck, taking out the card on the top.

The 9 of cups.

Another positive card. More so in the fact that it’s positive in the way that it steers towards her feelings about other people, and how it’s okay that she approaches them. Nozomi can’t possibly do that. She will probably know someone, and eventually drift apart from them when she moves away again. What’s wrong with her cards? She wonders. Did she not shuffle them properly? She draws the last card and much to her surprise, it is the “Lovers” card. Before even analysing it, she quickly puts the card back to the deck and stacks them up, placing them into her bag. She probably need to get a new deck of tarot cards.

After a quick shower, Nozomi settles into the bed in her bedroom. The room is dark, and the only source of light is coming from her phone that she is using. She reads a text from her mother 6 minutes ago.

  * _We have reached America, Non-Chan. Have fun in school tomorrow!_



Nozomi sighs as she locks her phone and puts it by her bedside. What is with the sudden cheery motivation around her for? Maybe things are really looking up this time? _No, no._ She shakes her head. _Can’t give myself too much false hopes_. With that, Nozomi welcomes a restful slumber, unknowing as to what tomorrow may bring for her.

 

_It's possible when this card appears that you are feeling ambivalent about a relationship or situation in your life. It could be that your heart is telling you one thing, and your head, another. In general, the thing to do is (within the bounds of your morality) to follow your heart. Some people say there are only two modes that any of us are operating under at any time; and that's "fear" or "love." When you can: choose love._

* * *

Nozomi stares back at her reflection in the mirror as she tightens the red bow on her uniform. She decides to put on the school’s blue blazer as well, since it’s close to fall and it will get pretty chilly. She runs her fingers through her long purple hair which stops at her bum and decides to put them into two twin tails, securing them with pink scrunchies. She opts for a pair of black thigh highs to complete her look. She takes a deep breath before hoisting her bag over her shoulder and walking out of her apartment.

 _First day of school it is again_ … She will be starting her second year into the second term at Otonokizaka High School, an all-girls school between Akihabara and Kanda. The school is a 15 minutes walk from her apartment, and since she is still early, she stops at the Kanda Shrine that she has researched about before moving here. Nozomi has always been a rather spiritual person, so coming her eases her mind a little. She inhales the subtle scent of incense combined with the fresh morning air, and clasps her hands together, praying that today will go by fast. With that, she bows and makes her way to the school.

As soon as she reaches the entrance of Otokizaka High school, Nozomi is enthralled by the sight of the purple trees lining the path to the main gate of the school. _This school seems pleasant_ , she thinks. There are other girls making their way into the school, and she checks her timetable to get to her class.

Nozomi heaves a sigh of relief as she walks in to an almost empty class. The first class is an English class. She won’t have a problem with that as she has rather abundant knowledge on that language from one of her stays in America when she was 13. There are only five girls, two of whom are deeply engrossed in a conversation at the far side of the classroom, while another three are immersing themselves in a video on one of the girl’s phone. She didn’t have to make any interactions and she smiles to herself as she finds a seat beside the two girls in the middle of the classroom. It is a good thing she’s about 15 minutes early. She takes out a book, pretending to read it while waiting for the rest of the class to fill up, and possibly, ignore her existence.

After a while, few more girls enter the classroom, some of which stare at the new purple haired classmate in their class. Nozomi then buries her head deeper into her book as she feels a tinge of uneasiness gnaw on her. It is not only until she notices a beautiful tall, slim girl with bright blonde hair tied into a high ponytail enter the classroom. She has strands of hair pulled out at the sides of her face, and this is when Nozomi finally puts her book down. _Is she fully Japanese….?_

* * *

Eli Ayase sees the new girl sitting in front of her seat in class. She walks over slowly, clutching her textbooks in her hand to her seat. As she passes by the girl’s seat, she observes that the girl is looking at Eli too from the side of her eyes. The girl has droopy doll eyes that are in the shade of a beautiful turqouise….. _Kawaii…_

At this moment, Eli realises that she herself is staring too and quickly averts her glance as she settles down in her seat.

Nozomi catches the blonde-haired girl looking at her just now. She blushes a little. Usually she will take those stares as people’s curiosity on the new girl in class, but this time she has no idea why her face is starting to heat up when she sees the girl looking at her too. The girl has a certain cool air of authority which Nozomi thinks is very apprehensive, but at the same time, kind of attractive.

Eli arranges her textbooks neatly on the table, and pulls out a letter from her file. It is a letter she has received from her grandmother this morning from Russia. She has written to ask how Eli is doing, and whether Otonokizaka High School, her alma-matter is receiving enough applicants for the first years next year. As Student Council President, she is to be responsible for this and unfortunately, the number of applicants are scarce.

The sensei starts to walk in and as soon as she catches sight of Nozomi, she signals for her to stand up to introduce herself. Nozomi stands up shyly, and all eyes dart towards her. A sight she is extremely used to.

Eli is unaware of her surroundings, as she continues to read the letter and think of ways to tell her grandmother nicely that the situation is dire in the school and the lack of applicants might actually trigger the school’s closure. She knows how much the school means to her grandmother because she was a highly respected student as well as a student council president back then. She doesn’t want to repeatedly disappoint her oba-sama every now and then.

“…. And I’m excited to work with you! Please guide me through!”

 _A Kansai dialect…_? Eli’s eyes shoot up to see the back view of the new girl who is now bowing her head before taking her seat. She missed her name. But she does know that she has distinct speaking accent.

“Please memorise your singular and plural tense, I will ask each of you about it in half an hour.” The bespectacled sensei announces.

 _Shit_ , Nozomi missed out the English textbook when she bought her other textbooks before school started.

Eli notices that the new girl doesn’t have the textbook required for class. She doesn’t really like to communicate with people, she’s more of a closed-off person and it’s a little ironic since she’s the student council president. But at the same time, it’s also her role as council president to make sure that everyone keeps up in their classes. Hence, she holds up her finger and leans in to her table to tap on the girl’s back. The girl turns back, her purple twin-tailed ponytail whipping around her as she did so. Eli can’t help but notice how adorably framed her face is, just like a doll. 

“Do you want to share my textbook?” Eli asks, her other hand on the table pointing to the textbook on her table.

 _Blue….. Those eyes were so blue._ Nozomi realises she’s staring again at the girl. She clears her throat and smiles.

“That is so nice.” She replies, shifting her chair behind to sit next to the blonde-haired girl.

“Sorry for the trouble.” She continues. She starts to feel her face heating up again, and she bites her lip to keep from feeling so obviously shy. _Why is she feeling this way????_ Nozomi catches sight of the girl shaking her head and smiling lightly to acknowledge her from the side of her eye.

The girl gently pushes the book closer in between them on the table so Nozomi can have a look. The both of them study the page on their book for a while, and Nozomi realises that she actually knows everything on this page. However, the girl on her left seems to be having a little bit of her trouble with the way she is tapping her fingers on the book while darting her eyes side to side.

“Ano…” Nozomi starts to speak in a hushed voice so as not to alert the sensei.

The blonde-haired girl snaps out of her thoughts, blue eyes widening.

“Do you need help with that?” Nozomi begins to ask.

“Oh, yes, I do actually..” Eli’s voice trails off towards the end. She can’t believe that the new girl is actually offering to teach her. It’s not that Eli really needed help, it’s just that she has been thinking a lot about her grandmother’s letter that she isn’t being focused on her work. But maybe having someone to teach her wouldn’t be that bad either because she tends to mix up her English grammars a lot.

“Hai, so “Me” is a singular tense, because it is just directing to myself, I’m just one person.” Nozomi explains. “And when its two people, in plural tense it is “We”.” Eli can’t help but notice how animated the girl beside her is being as she explains, and she suppresses a giggle in fear that the sensei would notice them and ask Nozomi to go back to seat. She retains her cool expression and gives a nod.

By the end of the half an hour to memorise the grammar, Nozomi has already written down a list of various singular and plural tenses on a piece of totoro-stylized piece of notepad for Eli.

“I hope you understand more, uh –“

“Elichika” Eli pipes up as Nozomi pauses mid-sentence to figure out her name.

Suddenly Eli realises she shouldn’t have said that as her name. She has been thinking about the letter and how her grandmother always calls her “cute and clever Elichika” that she actually said that nickname out loud. For once, her faces goes bright red and before she can even get a chance to correct herself, the purple-haired girl smiles so widely, as she says, “Thank you Elichika!” and moves back to her seat in front.

The feeling of embarrassment doesn’t seem to waver, and she hastily stuffs the letter back into her file, and tries to distract herself by reading the note the girl (she still hasn’t caught her name yet) has written for her. The girl has really cute handwriting, and she even ends off her sentences with a ( ´ ▽ ` )b emoticon.

 _Elichika…._ Nozomi silently mouths the name of the blonde-haired girl. It’s such a cute name for a person who appears to be rather cool and collected. And strangely enough, she’s actually looking forward to make a friend out of this Elichika.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Eli is so clearly gay while Nozomi has got more game than she has ever had in her whole life.

2\. And I say hi, but she's too shy to say hello

 

Classes went by surprisingly fast today, and Nozomi manages not to hold many conversations with the girls in her class. Occasionally some of them would go over to her table and ask her whether she’s from the Kansai region. She simply nods her head with her squinty-eyed smile and says yes. Sure, she has stayed in the Kansai region during her childhood, which contributes to her dialect, but she isn’t from there. She’s originally from the Kanto region, which is why she is kind of happy that she’s staying here now. But her relief and happiness soon fades away when she knows that she might not be here for good.

Some of the girls in the class start to pack up and leave the classroom, whereas another handful of them are on classroom duty to clean up the classroom. Nozomi feels the presence of Elichika behind her and she turns slightly, watching her pack her textbooks into her bag neatly. She is such an organised person.

Suddenly Nozomi feels weird watching her but before she could turn to leave, a piece of paper drops out from the folders of Elichika’s file. Nozomi hastens to the spot to pick it up for her, before Eli can do so. She stands up to face the slightly taller blonde-haired girl, and hands over the paper to her. Eli quickly stuffs the paper into her bag, crumpling it a little. As a neat person, this annoys her a little but she lets it drop.

“Ah, thank you, uh—"

“Mou Elichika, you don’t know my name?” Nozomi teases.

“Sorry, I was too engrossed in something else during your introduction just now.” As soon as Eli says that, her eyes widen as she realises it sounds a bit rude and quickly continues her sentence, “But I guess it would be nice to know your name now, on a more, uh- personal level.”

Eli silently curses for the way she has phrased it. Now she has made herself look rude and creepy at the same time.

Nozomi giggles as she sees the once cool and collected blonde turn into a shy, rambling person. ”My name is Toujou Nozomi! But you can call me Nozomi.” She says, now confidently.

“Nozomi…” Eli says under her breath. As she exhales, she remembers the way Nozomi calls her name. “Nozomi, I have to tell you though, my name isn’t Elichika. That’s actually the nickname my grandmother gives me. My name is Eli, Ayase Eli.”

Upon hearing this, Nozomi’s face lights up as she gives another teasing look to the blonde.

“I knew you were too fierce for a name like Elichika!” She lets out a soft laughter after that.

“I’m fierce?” Eli questions as she points to herself.

“I’m just kidding. You have a very cool composure that is very admirable. And..” It is now Nozomi’s turn to blush when she mentions the next thing.

“You're very pretty.” She finishes, with a wink. Nozomi actually winked at her. Even she herself is surprised that she did that.

 

_When the Sun card shows for you, it's a sign that soon you are likely to find yourself feeling more free than you have in a while._

 

Were the cards actually right for once? Was she feeling free, and rid of all her shyness to actually be playful towards a new person she just met? Eli flashes a nervous smile as soon as she hears those words come out from the purple-haired girl. She doesn’t know what to reply, and this is when Eli realises – she’s shy. She is not used to being complimented. Sure, whenever she passes by the hallways some of the first years would stop to look at her and whisper in hushed voices at how beautiful she was, but never, have she ever been complimented by a person right in front of her. To add it on, the girl who just complimented Eli is really beautiful herself too. She has that exotic look to her, and she can never quite take her eyes away from Nozomi’s sparkling turquoise eyes.  It is also, quite hard not to notice her rather voluptuous pair of boobs from the way it fit her uniform so well. At the same time, Eli is a little envious. I mean, she had rather decent boobs, but she’ll never have them frame the uniform as well as Nozomi did.

“Ano….” Nozomi speaks in a hushed voice.

 _SHIT._ Eli catches herself staring again, and much noticeably, at the chest area.

“It was nice meeting you, thank you for helping me today!” Nozomi thanks the blonde with a slight bow.

“You’re leaving?” Eli asks, with a raise of her brows.

“Yeah—" Before Nozomi can continue, she narrows her glance at the blonde and a cheeky smile forms on her face.

“Mou, don’t tell me Elicchi is being neeeeeedy and doesn’t want me to goooooo.”

Teasing Eli has definitely become one of Nozomi’s favourite things to do, even though it is only the first day she met her.

 _ELICCHI. SHE CALLED HER ELICCHI. THAT IS SO KAWAII._ Eli screams in her head. She remains her cool however, and attempts to pull an unconcerned face, although it is hard to avoid the crimson flush that is spreading on her face.

“Don’t you have to get your English textbook? You can’t keep sharing it with me anyway.” She says, in an attempt to change the subject.

Nozomi considers what she says and gives a thoughtful look before replying, “But what if I want to keep sharing it with you, Elicchi?”

She knew it. Eli knew she has no way to win this girl. She is really quick-witted and Eli can’t help but just let loose and roll her eyes playfully at her.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the school bookshop.”

Both girls start to leave the classroom. And both of them, in that span of a few minutes, have begun to let loose and savour the new found friendship that they have.

* * *

 “So what do you usually do after school, Elicchi?” Nozomi pipes up beside her as they walk to the bookstore.

At this moment, Eli knows that she extremely adores hearing the new nickname from the slightly shorter purple-haired girl. 

“I uh, usually have student council duties to do after school. But I have already finished mine yesterday, so I’m free today.” Eli replies.

“Woah, you are in the student council? I am not surprised though, you look the part.” Nozomi giggles.

“Let me guess…. You’re the student council president.”

Eli’s eyes widen. “You’re absolutely right, Nozomi.”

They pass by the school cafeteria and the bookshop is just beside it.

“Ah, they sell parfaits here?” Nozomi’s attention steers towards the see-through mini freezer displaying different flavours of parfaits at the dessert store.

“Yeah, you like them?” Eli answers.

Nozomi nods her head eagerly, and Eli can’t help but smile again at the shorter girl’s excitement over a dessert.

“I’m going to get one after we get my textbook!” Nozomi continues, as she pushes open the door of the bookstore, the bell chiming as they enter the entrance.

Eli stops in her tracks, “Actually Nozomi…”

Nozomi spins around, her head tilting to the side with a quizzical look on her face. Eli’s fingers start to fiddle around nervously, and she grips onto the files she is holding onto to hide her obvious anxious finger movements. She takes in a breath, and opens her mouth slowly, the purple-haired girl still looking at her.

“I know a place which sells the best parfaits…. I can take you there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> deep down, nozomi would rather have something else for dessert ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parfaits. Brainfreeze. Harasho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for the kudos so far! Just to let you know, although most of the NozoEli moments here are rather canonically related to the TV show, this doesn't really take place within the Love Live period, which means that them being Idols aren't really going to happen here. Although maybe sometime I will try to incorporate it, we'll see... But I will also continue to introduce some of the µ's member as normal school girls, especially the second years (who are currently first years in this fic). 
> 
> I hope you are enjoying this fic so far! Let me know what you think too! :)

3\. She's just waiting for that one to take her hand and shake her up.

 

After a 15 minutes from their school to the streets of the bustling Akihabara, Nozomi and Eli find themselves standing outside “Lovely Akiba Maid Café”.

_Wait…_

Nozomi narrows her eyes at the brown signboard. Maid café? Eli goes to this type of place? It’s not meant to be a bad thing, absolutely not. But Eli? She sure doesn’t seem like the kind who would fancy cutesy maid cafes, and to add it on, maid cafes generally weren’t a place girls would usually go to.

“What’s wrong?” Eli notices Nozomi’s shocked look on her face.

“Oh, ah nothing! Let’s get parfaits!!!” Nozomi returns to smiling widely, as she pushed the door of the café, and a cute bell greeting chimes as soon as the both of them enter.

Before they even enter, both girls are greeted with the usual tradition of a girl in maid costume welcoming them into the café.

“Welcome Eli-sama!” The ash-brown haired maid greets them in a high-pitched voice that is rather adorable.

Her amber eyes goes towards Nozomi, and returns back to Eli with a smile.

“A party of two?” She asks gently, while hugging the menus to her chest.

“Yes, thank you Minami-san.” Eli replies courteously.

“Let me take you to your table.” The maid replies sweetly.

Nozomi remains a little confused by the whole situation. _Eli knows that girl? Must it be…. Could she secretly frequent this place a lot and know all of the maids here? Was she interested in those cute maids… Did she have a thing for maid costumes….. No no.. Parfaits. They are here for parfaits._

Nozomi shakes her head and follows Eli into the spacious café designed with many wall decorations as well as shelves that are filled with cute stuff toys. 

The maid who Eli addresses as Minami-san leads them to a table by the side of the window.

“Please, take a seat.”

Both girls take their places opposite each other on the cushion-lined seats. As they sit, Nozomi catches sight of two other girls in the same Otonokizaka uniform sitting at the other end of the café. One of them has ginger hair with parts of her hair tied in a side ponytail, while the other leaves her midnight blue hair cascading down her spine. _Do all girls from this school frequent this place…?_

The maid hands them their respective menus with the most mesmerizing look to her eyes, which Nozomi found quite hard to take her own eyes away from.

“I’ll bring some cold water for you. Excuse me.” The girl bows fully and gives off the most infectious smile ever.

God, Nozomi can feel shivers down her spine.

As soon as she leaves, Nozomi finds her eyes now gazing into piercing blue eyes at the same eye level, and she thinks to herself, “ _just give me a break with all these beautiful eyes looking at me in one day already!”_

“No..Nozomi?” Eli asks, with a concerned look on her face.

“You’ve been acting weird ever since we came in.”

Realising she has let her guard down because two beautiful girls decide to let her do so, Nozomi quickly goes back to her teasing mode since it’s sort of her defence mechanism at the moment.

“Am I acting weird _, Eli-sama_?” Nozomi enunciates the Eli-sama, the term which the maid used to address her earlier on with a sly look on her face.

Suddenly, Eli’s face goes a little red, and she looks out of the window while saying, “Mou, don’t call me that.”

Nozomi gives a playful giggle and goes on to study the menu.

But in all honestly, she liked the way Nozomi called her that. It’s just like calling her Elicchi. Except Eli-sama sounded a little kinky… It made her feel kind of dominant. _Wait.. Kinky.. Dominant?_ Eli shouldn’t think such thoughts. Especially in front of someone she just met. Much less to say she’s a girl. Kinky things with a girl… That’s just…. She sees another maid holding a tray of parfaits. That’s right, Nozomi wants parfaits!

“Nozomi, you have to try the mango parfait, it’s really good.” She changes the subject quickly, by pointing out to the picture of the signature mango parfait on Nozomi’s menu. Only when she did so, she accidentally brushes Nozomi’s knuckles and as if she just had an electric shock to her finger, she jerks a little at the movement, but she keeps the jerking movement subtle so as not to let the other girl know that she was shocked by the contact of their hands.

“Really? What about you Elicchi?”

“I’m having the chocolate banana parfait.”

“Okay, then I’ll get the mango one. And then I can try yours!” Nozomi gives a sneaky grin.

Eli closes her menu and beckons for the ash-brown haired maid to come back and take their parfait orders. She flutters over to them in an instant.

“Hai Eli-sama and friend, what can I get you?” She says sweetly.

“Please, Kotori. You know you can just call me Eli.” Eli says.

“Eli-senpai-“

“No, Eli.” Eli corrects again.

“It’s my job as Minalinsky-san to serve you, Eli-chan, I have to address you formally, onegai!” Kotori protests, with the best puppy-dog eyes she can give to the blonde.

Nozomi grins at the kawaii display of the very passionate girl, and greets her, “Minalinksy-san, can I get one chocolate banana parfait for _ELI-SAMA_ ” and Eli sighs upon hearing that.

“And a mango parfait for myself!” Nozomi finishes her order.

 “Oh, Kotori, this is Nozomi. She’s a new transfer student who is in the same class as me.” Eli adds on.

“Nice to meet you, Nozomi-senpai.” Kotori bows.

She starts to collect the menus from Nozomi and Eli and bows again.

“I’ll be back with your orders Eli-senpai, Nozomi-senpai!” She turns to go to the kitchen, and waves to the two Otonokizaka girls sitting together on her way.

“What a cute girl.” Nozomi comments.

“That’s Kotori. She’s a first year student at our school. She’s the Principal’s daughter.”

Nozomi’s eyes widen in amazement. “She’s only a first year? And she’s working here?”

Eli nods her head. “Yeah, but she’s very diligent. It’s no wonder she’s the legendary maid of Akiba.”

“Oooooh, she is?” Nozomi can’t help but be fascinated by the students of Otonozkizaka. Already in one day, she has met a student council president who is not just beautiful, but also intelligent, and a first year student who is the freaking legendary maid of Akiba. This is quite possibly one of the most interesting transfers she ever had.

“What are you thinking about Nozomi?” Eli pipes up, interrupting Nozomi’s thoughts.

“Oh, I was just thinking how Otonokizaka has so many talented ladies.” Nozomi answers.

“Well, what are you talented at then?” Eli leans closer to the purple-haired girl. This is so not her, she realises. She has never taken the opportunity to get so close to a person before. But somehow, today is the day.

Seeing the blonde’s face suddenly so up close is kind of intimidating. And it makes her heart thump wildly…

“M-m-m-me?” Nozomi asks, still in shock.

Eli nods. “You just transferred here. I believe that makes you a talented Otonokizaka lady too.”

Nozomi goes quiet. She has no special talents, so to say. She isn’t good at sports, and part of the reason is because her huge chest which she really detests sometimes always gets in the way, she doesn’t have much experience with artsy stuffs because she has had no opportunities to attend art, or dance classes when she was much younger. All she has is her tarot cards… WAIT HER TAROT CARDS!

She quickly unzips her bags and takes out her deck of tarot cards.

Eli cocks her head to the side as she watches Nozomi spread out the cards on the table. _Are these…. Tarot cards?_

“I guess I can say my talent is in fortune telling.” Nozomi states.

“I can do a reading for you now, if you want.”

“Really? How true are your readings?” Eli challenges with a raise of her brows.

“As true as how worried you are about someone who might test your boundaries in the student council.” Nozomi answers swiftly.

Eli sits rooted in a seat, a gut feeling rising in her throat. What Nozomi said is kind of true. Her vice-president Ousaka Shizuku hasn’t exactly been been fulfilling her council jobs. Usually she’s very responsible, despite the fact that she has heavy roles in the student council and the theatre club, she always knows how to delegate her duties and do them well.

Except Shizuku hasn’t been in the student council room much after school recently. Eli would go over to her table after classes and ask her if they want to walk to the student council room together but Shizuku would refuse and say she has to leave, but will still be able finish up the student council duties in her own home. This concerns Eli because they need to discuss ideas for school events to attract people, especially at a time when the intake rate for the new students is so low.

“How do you know that?” Eli asks.

Nozomi deftly lifts up one hand and shows Eli the card with an image of an Egyptian cat with two cats by its side.

“The Chariot. There may be someone who will be working against you, intentional or not. It will be a rough time, but you will soon find out a way to work through it.

Eli remains silent, as she takes in what Nozomi just said.

“Still unconvinced?” Nozomi asks.

She takes out the next card on the deck, and presents it to Eli, placing it beside the Chariots card.

“Five of Cups.” Nozomi announces.

She let her thoughts simmer for a while, before taking a breath to explain what the card is about.

“You feel like you’re on the verge of disappointing someone every time, someone more close to your heart per say, and this hinders your progress in your current workflow.”

The line strikes Eli’s hard and suddenly, as if being hypnotised, she pays close attention.

“The card also suggests that you might have some problems letting go of your past, and often you’re scared to let history repeat itself again.”

Eli can’t stop thinking about her oba-sama, how she cried in her arms after getting rejected for the ballet school in Russia, how her oba-sama told her to make her proud by making a name for Otonokizaka…”

Unknowingly, Eli is shaking her head in an obvious manner and Nozomi notices it. Nozomi has struck a chord with the blonde. Her fortune telling skills are really working its magic this time.

Realising she’s showing her weak side, Eli clears her throat and sits up straighter in her seat.

“Are there no happy things in your cards?” She asks sheepishly.

Nozomi’s lips curl up a little to form a furtive smile.

“That’s why you got to bring in the positivity to expel the negativity, Elicchi.”

Eli remains spellbound for a moment. God, her life is so melodramatic.

Nozomi takes out the last card but instead of showing the card to Eli in style, she hesitates a little as she places the card slowly. This card has thrown her off her game.

“The Lovers…” She mutters under her breath.

“The Lovers?” Eli repeats it so as to prod Nozomi to explain further.

“I.. I…” Nozomi stutters.

“Is it another bad card?” Eli questions with genuine curiosity.

Nozomi shakes her head profusely. “No, no it’s not…”

“It’s just that I picked that card for myself yesterday too.”

“Oh, does this mean we are meant to be lovers?” Eli says without much thought.

As soon as she finishes her sentence and sees the purple-haired girl’s shocked wide eyes with her mouth agape, she sinks her teeth into her lips to hide that embarrassing moment she just created.

“Oh, no no, I just…”

“Mou, Eli-samaaaaaaa, don’t deny our physical attraction!” Nozomi whines playfully, as soon as she recovered from her state of shock from that shocking confession from Eli. 

“Stop it…” Red spots flared on Eli’s cheeks.

At the moment, Kotori comes back with a tray with their parfaits.

“Ah, our parfaits are here!” Nozomi chirps excitedly while collecting the cards on her table to make space for the parfaits.

Eli cannot be more than thankful that Kotori has appeared at the right time.

“Thanks for waiting!” Kotori beams at two girls, while putting down their respective parfait in front of them.

She leaves once again, and the both of them begin to tuck in to their dessert, forgetting everything that happened previously.

“Ah, this is so good!!” Nozomi says after taking a spoonful of the frozen yoghurt.

At the same time, Eli carefully scoops a portion of the yoghurt, with just the chocolate sauce on it.

“You sure have a meticulous way of eating, Elicchi.” Nozomi observes.

“Oh, I only bought this for the chocolate sauce. I’m not really a fan of bananas.”

Nozomi draws her eyebrows together, as a sly grin forms on her face. Eli is so used to this look by now. She knows that she’s probably going to talk about her comment on the bananas.

“Do you come here often?” Nozomi asks, while digging in to another scoop of parfait.

Eli is taken back a little by that simple question as she thought that Nozomi would have said something more inappropriate with the bananas comment.

“No, I don’t. This is only my third time here.”

“Oh, but you seem to know Minami-san really well. And she’s probably one of the person who you’re actually keen in talking to because I see that you don’t usually like talking to people.”

As soon as she hears Nozomi’s words, Eli lowers her head a little. _How did this girl know her so well?_ She has said things that Eli wouldn’t dare to admit.

“Well… That’s because I work with the Principal a lot. And from Principal Minami I got to know Kotori too. And those girls there—" Eli points to the same two girls that are sitting together.

“That’s Umi, the one with the blue hair, and the ginger one is Honoka. They’re all Kotori’s friends. They aren’t the typical annoying first years, so I can get along with them.”

Nozomi nods her head slowly. Eli isn’t that inhospitable towards other people after all.

“What about you, Nozomi? Why did you transfer here?”

This is getting personal. But yet at the same time, Nozomi feels comfortable talking about her situation to her.

“My parents are professional chefs. They don’t own a restaurant on their own, but instead they get invited to different places to cook for a period of time. It can take about one year until they go to a different location. And I follow them everywhere they go.”

Nozomi pauses to search for any expression on Eli’s face. But instead Eli smiles for her to go on.

“This time I am back in Tokyo because they signed a contract to work on a cruise ship in America for about 8 months. I can’t possibly stay with them on a ship because I still have to study, so they decided to send me back home. The reason why they did that was because they wanted to take a break from cooking after this cruise ship job, and then come back to live with me but….”

“I can’t really trust them sometimes. Because they’ll eventually take up another job offer and off I go to another place.” Nozomi finishes, while drawling out a long sigh.

Both of them remain in silence for about a clear 5 seconds, before Eli looks as if she is about speak.

“Harasho….” Eli murmurs.

Almost immediately Nozomi could recognize the language that Eli has just spoken. It’s Russian for the word ‘good’. Maybe the blonde was somehow part Russian.

“I’m really amazed, Nozomi. Getting to go to many places has made you so independent and you even know so many languages. But it’s kind of unfair for you with the way they don’t put your needs first.” Eli confesses.

“I know, but I guess I’m used to it. Although it gets scary at times whenever I think about the days nearing the end of my parent’s job lease. It will just remind me that I’m moving to another place soon. Friends who I thought I could be close friends with, they’ll just be nothing but a memory.”

At that moment, Eli suddenly forgets Nozomi’s teasing looks, or the way her voice would go all adorably squeaky when she gets excited about something. All she can remember now is Nozomi’s worried look on her face, and although she still doesn’t quite know her yet, she wishes that she can reach out and just hug her. She’s just like her—they’re both afraid of one thing in their lives.

“Uh..”

Eli’s hand went up to Nozomi’s left hand that was on the table, and gives a gentle, yet somehow rather awkward pat.

As if triggering a detonator in her head, Nozomi’s eyes shoot up immediately as she feels this contact. She freezes a little, and she doesn’t seem to blink for a while.

 _SHIT SHIT SHIT._ Eli quickly retracts her hand away from Nozomi. She shouldn’t have done that.

 _SHIT._ Eli can’t stop freaking out in her head. As if for the thousandth time today, she looks over to the window as a distraction.

Suddenly, the purple-haired girl starts to make a noise and Eli looks back nervously, only to see Nozomi clutching her jaw.

“BRRRAINFREEEEZE!!!!” Nozomi exclaims loudly.

Eli starts to break out into laughter, and Nozomi joins in laughing as well.

“Nozomi!! You need to calm down with the way you’re eating your parfait!” She says, in between laughters.

“Mou, Elicchi!!! I’m just enjoying the parfaits you recommended meeeee.” Nozomi teases.

Once both of the girls have calmed down and are almost done with the parfait (Nozomi was, Eli is still barely halfway done with hers), Nozomi starts to ask Eli a question.

“Elicchi, my cards tell me that you’re 1/4 Russian, aren’t you?”

“Harasho.” Eli replies swiftly, while unknowingly taking a huge spoonful of her own parfait.

It doesn’t take long before the blonde erupts into a “BRAAAAAINFREEEZE” moment.

 


	4. Chapter 4

4\. I bet I could.

 

It is evening by the time Eli gets home from her little parfait adventure with Nozomi. Before opening the door to her house, her phone beeps, signalling a new text. She smiles to herself as she sees that it is a text from her new purple-haired friend.

Toujou Nozomi (6.23PM): hello hello… just testing this out.. 

Toujou Nozomi (6.23PM): chocolate, banana, elichika! ( ´ ▽ ` )b 

Eli laughs at the first text she receives from Nozomi. She has the tendency to save everyone’s contact with their full name, it’s a habit she wouldn’t ignore. But as soon as she sees Nozomi’s text, she feels compelled to change it. 

She copies the emoticon Nozomi frequents, and adds it behind the new edited contact name for her.

Ayase Eli (6.25PM): It’s working indeed. Hi Nozomi! 

Ayase Eli (6.25PM): Mango, Harasho, Nozomi!

After sending that, she feels silly. That didn’t even come out as cute as what Nozomi has sent her. 

She sees Nozomi typing, and then stopping, and then typing again. _She was definitely thinking what I said was stupid…_ Eli grits her teeth thinking. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (6.26PM): mou elicchi…. that was so bad (｡－‿ ◕｡)

Ayase Eli (6.26PM): At least I tried! 

She looks at the text a while, and decides to add an emoticon since Nozomi seems pretty interested in them. She quickly types in a “sad face emoticon” on her search bar on her phone and copies it, then going back to the text message to send it.

Ayase Eli (6.28PM): (´・ω・`) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (6.28PM): kawaii ehehe. elicchi needs to improve on her texting speed though ;) 

Eli shakes her head with a grin. This friend of hers is really something. Before she can reply though, another text from Nozomi comes in. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (6.28PM): thank you for making my first day of school out of my many first day of schools the best one, elicchi! ( ´ ▽ ` )b 

Ayase Eli (6.28PM): Harasho!

* * *

After spending 5 minutes outside her gate to text Nozomi, she finally slots the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door. She can smell the familiar scent of herbs coming from the stew in the kitchen. 

“Tadaima!” Eli announces as she takes off her school shoes.

“Ara, you’re home!” Her mother steps out from the kitchen to greet Eli with a warm smile. 

“Shchi?” Eli asks her mother about the food she is cooking. 

“Yes, yes. It’s been a while since we had some Russian food haven’t we?” Her mother responses. 

“You’re home a bit later today.” She continues.

“Oh, I went out with a friend.” Eli casually replies.

“A friend… Ah, that’s new, but it’s nice that you’re taking some time to socialise rather than concentrate on student council all the time.” 

Eli bites her lips, nodding slowly. It wasn’t her fault that she is always putting a lot of effort into the student council, it’s just that no one else in it seemed to care. 

“Anyway, go shower and come out in time for dinner!” Her mother said, while disappearing back into the kitchen return to her cooking.

As Eli walks into her room, she sees a smaller girl, with slightly lighter blonde hair reaching her shoulders sitting on the edge of her bed, holding up a pair of Eli’s old ballet shoes. She smiles at the sight of her younger sister holding her prized childhood possession, but is at the same time curious as to why she would be interested in it all of a sudden.

Upon hearing Eli enter, the shorter girl hops off her bed and runs to Eli, hugging her tightly by the waist.

“Welcome home, onee-chan!” Alisa greets happily.

Eli giggles at the affection of her younger sister and pats her soft, blonde hair.

“What are you doing with those ballet shoes, Alisa?” She asks softly.

The younger girl’s eyes light up, as she holds the pink shoes up to Eli. 

“We have to do a presentation tomorrow, and it is about our siblings! I want to talk about how onee-chan is so good at ballet!” 

Eli gulps, her face going slack after hearing what Alisa said. 

_“Ayase san, sorry, to tell you this, but unfortunately we are not taking in any more applicants. Thank you for your participation!”_

_She remembers the dimmed lights, the empty stage, the face of the admission director as she reveals the rejection, the silence as she stood beside her grandmother._

“Onee-chan…?” Alisa’s soft voice brings Eli back to her senses. 

“Ah, Alisa… That’s nice of you to talk about me in your class, I’m flattered.” She flashes a grin. 

Alisa beams widely, clutching the ballet shoes to her chest tightly. Eli can’t help but to smile in adoration and pats her head.

“I got you some drinks from the vending machine near our house just now! It was my first time using it, it was so exciting!” Alisa exclaims. 

Unlike Eli, Alisa has only come to Tokyo to stay four months ago as her grandmother thought that Alisa would be better off having a Japanese education earlier rather than be brought up as a Russian girl. 

“Thank you, Alisa. Go get ready for dinner!” Eli pipes up, and the younger girls hops out happily.

Eli walks to the fridge in the kitchen, the smell of the dishes from her mother’s cooking punctuating the air. She opens it, only to realise the ‘drink’ Alisa bought was oden. She laughs and shakes her head, showing it to her mother.

“Ara, she bought oden and thought you could drink it?” Her mother asks, surprised.

“Hai, she still has a lot to learn, that Alisa.” Eli replies, passing her mother the canned food. 

“You can add that to your dishes, it can be a Russian-Japanese fusion after all.” 

Eli settles on a can of cold green tea, and goes back to her room. She still has one more thing to do. She takes out the crumpled piece of paper from her bag, and tries to straighten it out again, reading the contents on it another time. 

_What can she do…. What should she tell her oba-sama…._

She picks up her phone nervously, and unlocks it. There is another text from Nozomi and it was her simply asking, 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (6.41PM): elicchi, when’s your birthday? 

She gives an amused frown, and decides to reply her later.

She goes to her contacts, and hovers over to her oba-sama’s contact. She takes in a deep breath, and as she exhales, she presses the call button.

The call rings for about 6 seconds, before her grandmother picks up on the other hand.

“Hello, my sweet Elichika.” 

Her grandmother’s voice sounds extra raspy, as if she has just woken up. _Oh right… It’s barely 7am in Russia… Eli should have planned this out first._

“Oba-sama, sorry for waking you up..” She says apologetically. 

She hears the familiar cackle of her grandmother’s laughter over the phone.

“It’s fine, in fact it’s nice to hear from my granddaughter first thing in the morning!” 

“I got your letter, oba-sama.” 

“Oh, that’s fast? I thought it would take another few days!”

“Yes, I did. Actually I have to tell you…” 

Eli grips the paper in her hand, crumpling it more. 

“I… The school isn’t doing so well now.” 

“Oh my! What happened?” 

Hearing her grandmother’s concerned voice, Eli bites into her trembling lips. It’s not exactly that Eli is scared of her grandmother, and it wasn’t that her grandmother was a fierce and strict person either. She is just scared to disappoint her. Her grandmother and mother was a dancer in their early days, and unfortunately Eli wasn’t really successful at it despite many attempts. Now, having to keep the stability of the school that her grandmother was in was her only saving grace to feel accomplished. 

“Otonokizaka isn’t receiving enough applicants for the new year. If this goes on, the school might have to close down.”

Eli hears a silence on the other hand. She holds her phone tighter to her ear, the paper on her other hand gripping it even tighter. 

“Elichika.” Her grandmother finally speaks up.

“I guess it’s understandable. Otonokizaka was popular back in the old days, and with the modern age now I can understand why people wouldn’t go to it as a first choice.” 

“I will make sure that the school will not close down.” Eli replies indignantly. 

Eli’s grandmother gives a hearty laugh.

“My my, my sweet granddaughter. You don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself, just enjoy school life!” 

“But—"

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll always be my cute and clever Elichika!” 

“Oba-sama..” Eli breathes out. 

“Vsegda gorzhus' toboy.” Her grandmother speaks in a fluent Russian. She told her she was proud of her, but can Eli really believe it for herself?

* * *

 After the call, Eli goes back to her text messages, and opens up the chat with Nozomi.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (6.41PM): elicchi, when’s your birthday? 

Ayase Eli (6.59PM): My birthday is on October 21st. What about you? 

Almost instantly, Eli receives a reply. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.00PM): ah, mine’s on june 9th. 

She guesses that it must be lonely for Nozomi to stay alone at home, hence why she’s always on her phone. She contemplates asking her to come over for dinner at her home. 

Before she could reply however, another reply from Nozomi came in.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.00PM): according to the horoscope we work well together in our friendship! ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

Eli shakes her head as the corners of her mouth turns up into a smile. 

Ayase Eli (7.01PM): Harasho. Glad to be of your companionship. ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.01PM): alright, i’m going to cook my yakiniku for dinner so i won’t reply as fast now. see u in a bit (｡－‿ ◕｡)

_Nozomi is cooking for dinner… She is so independent.._ Eli thinks. At the moment, she rushes out of her room to help her mother with the dishes.

* * *

 2nd day of school. Nozomi walks past the same purple trees leading to the entrance of Otonokizaka, when she notices the blonde walking just ahead of her. She grins, and runs to her at a brisk pace.

“Ohayo, Elicchi!” Nozomi greets happily.

Eli spins around, her usual ponytail she favours whipping around with her as she did so. 

“Oh, ohayo Nozomi.” She greets back with a soft smile, although at the next moment her face slackens to form a confused look.

“There’s still 45 minutes till class starts though?” 

“I know, I like being early.” Nozomi tilts her head to the side with a grin. 

“I like going into class when no one is there yet, and I’ll just mind my own business until the day ends.” She recalls her usual class routine.

Eli seems to give a thoughtful look, before returning her glance back to the purple-haired girl.

“Do you want to come to the student council room with me? I just have to check some documents.” 

Nozomi nods her head willingly at this request, and soon both girls make their way to the student council room.

Eli opens the door, as Nozomi follows closely behind.

Just as expected, the room is extremely neat. The files on the table are stacked up nicely, and it seems that the other documents are stored in the various cupboards lining the walls. However, a piece of pink paper placed under a paperweight catches both girls’ attention.

Eli approaches it cautiously, and lifts up the paper weight to take the piece of paper underneath it. She can already see the familiar cursive handwriting. Shizuku’s handwriting.

 

_Eli, I know this is the most awful time to tell you this, but I have been accepted into a theatre school in Kyoto, and it’s the school I have been wanting to go ever since completing middle school. I have tried, and tried, but I never got the chance to be selected. So I came to Otonokizaka, as a last choice. Even still, I kept trying. After a few more auditions, I finally got the chance to be admitted, as they know about my achievements in the theatre club here, so I am leaving Otonokizaka right away. I am so sorry for being irresponsible with my actions, and having to leave my student council duties. I hope you understand._

_From,_

_Shizuku_

 

Nozomi notices Eli, the colour draining from her face, as she stares wide-eyed at the piece of paper in her hand.

“E.. Elicchi..?” Nozomi mutters softly in concern. She has seen parts of the letter with the side of her eye, and can slightly grasp the situation.

Eli opens her mouth slightly, as if to speak, but she closes it again, her well-exfoliated lips taut. 

Eli doesn’t know whether to be angry, or happy for Shizuku. She finally got what she wanted hasn’t she? Shizuku has always been persevering in her passions of theatre, and she finally got to be in the school she wanted to be. She succeeded. Unlike Eli. 

At the same time, she is angry that Shizuku only treated Otonokizaka as a dump, a place to be at for a while knowing that she will end up in a better place sooner or later. To add it on, she even took up the heavy responsibility of student council vice-president and now she’s abandoning this role completely. Eli just feels at a loss, especially at a crucial time when the school is already at an unfavourable state.

“Let’s go back to class.” Eli finally speaks up. 

Nozomi nods her head, not saying a word, and both girls walk out of the student council room quietly.

* * *

Classes are pretty mundane today. Sitting in front of Eli in class, Nozomi can’t help but to wonder how Eli is feeling right now. _Was she still thinking about it? Was she still upset?_ She couldn’t bring herself to turn around to face the blonde either.

“Ayase-san! Can I get a reading of this passage please?” The sensei speaks up.

“Ah, hai!” Eli stands up, slightly flustered. 

Nozomi can tell from Eli’s sudden high-pitched voice that Eli wasn’t listening during the class, and she can confirm that this is affecting her a lot.

Eli’s usual composure starts to come back as she starts to read the passage from the textbook, and this is when Nozomi finally turns around to look at her.

Eli definitely looks like how she did when Nozomi first saw her - cool and collected with a steely look of seriousness in her blue eyes. But she knows that this is all just a disguise. 

She shifts her attention back to her own table, and quickly tears a sheet of paper from her small totoro notepad. She scribbles something on it, and once Eli was done with her passage reading, Nozomi quickly turns around and slides the paper on her table.

Eli reads off the paper on the table, and for the first time, out of many letters that she has read the past two days, this one makes her smile. A genuine smile.

 

_ganbatte dayo, elicchi!!!_

 

After that there is the same drawing of the emoticon that Nozomi favours in her texts. 

She looks at the back view of the purple-haired girl in front of her, the smile never leaving her face. Nozomi is really something.

Lunch time came by right after that class. Nozomi takes out the bento box she has packed for today. She packed in the extra yakiniku from yesterday, tiny octopus sausages, tamago, rice and cherry tomatoes. She turns to the back, with the box in her hand.

“Want to share lunch with me?” She offers the blonde. 

Eli looks surprised at the offer, as she has never done such a thing before with someone. She accepts however, and motions for Nozomi to move her chair to face her table. 

“Harasho.” Eli states, as she takes a bite out of the beef. 

“It’s nice isn’t it?” Nozomi beams proudly.

“I forgot that I was living on my own, and cooked too much yakiniku last night. I’m glad they taste better today.” 

“Yeah, you’re a good cook Nozomi.” Eli says, before taking another bite.

Nozomi stares at the blonde, her gentle lips brushing the food, and the poise manner in which she eats it. _She’s so beautiful…_

Realising she’s staring, Nozomi quickly brings her attention to her food. She scoops into her rice, but doesn’t lift it up to eat. She stirs it for a while, wondering if Eli has read her note. 

As if Eli has read her mind, she pipes up, “Thanks for your note, it’s really cute.” 

Nozomi looks up at the grinning blonde, and returns the smile. Only maybe.. She hasn’t quite read everything yet. 

“Elicchi, there’s something else I wrote on the back too.” 

“Really?” Eli puts down her fork, and goes back into the page of her textbook where she puts the piece of paper in. She turns the paper to the back, and as soon as she reads it, she almost chokes on her food.

 

_ I can be your vice-president. Let me know if I am able to be up for it. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically lots of internal gay explosions

5\. I wish my heart was always on her mind.

 

“You’re not going to leave the school after a year are you?” Eli asks, her brows furrowing in concern. 

It has been a week since Nozomi suggested to fill in as student council vice president, and although it was overwhelming and concerning for Eli at first, she has considered her offer and raised it to Principal Minami. The two girls now sit in the student council room after their classes, talking about their plans.

“Don’t worry Elicchi, I’m not going anywhere.” Nozomi flashes a reassuring smile, her head tilting to the direction of the blonde. 

She knows that she has had her worries of moving somewhere again in a year or so, but somehow, she is determined to stay this time. Even if it means defying her parents for the first time in her life. She doesn’t know why Eli has such a huge hold on her life to make such decisions, but she knows that good things are going to come her way if she does so.

“Are you sure?” Eli asks again, narrowing her blue eyes at Nozomi, with a seriousness to her tone. 

She knows. Nozomi knows Eli is insecure that someone will just leave again. She gives a relaxed sigh, and reaches out to Eli’s blonde ponytail. She feels the wispiness of her hair, and intertwines her fingers in between strands of them. Eli becomes shocked at Nozomi’s movement, but doesn’t brush her away. In fact, she can feel the blush creeping up on her face. 

Nozomi starts to twirl the strand of hair in her fingers. “Our horoscopes said that we work well together, and just like the cards, I choose to believe them.” 

She retracts her hand from Eli’s hair, and does her usual squinty-eyed grin. 

“You should believe them too.” 

Just like that, Eli is hooked on to what Nozomi said. Staring into Nozomi’s turquoise eyes, she feels safe. She feels that she can be safe enough to trust her.

The pair sit in silence, simply gazing into each other.

After a while, Eli clears her throat and sits up straighter in her seat.

“Okay, so what Principal Minami told me regarding your proposition was that yes, you can apply to be the vice-president, but because you’re still a new student and not even from the student council, you have to prove your worth.” 

Nozomi sits still, listening attentively. 

“There will be two more student councillors who I have chosen to contest in the role with you.” 

Eli takes out the folder on the table, and flips to a page on it with the profiles of two girls. 

“Shinomiya Akiru, and Sakamaki Chizuko. Honestly, they aren’t really that outstanding, but they are the best out of the whole student council body.” 

Nozomi takes a closer look at the profile pages of the two girls and a smirk forms on her face when she realises something obvious about the two of them.

“Mou, Elicchi, do you have a thing for purple-haired girls?” The two other girls Eli chose both had purple hair, one with a short bob and the other of medium-length hair. Their hairs are in a dark shade of purple. 

“What?” Eli’s facial muscles twitch up, her eyes widening. 

Nozomi props her hands up on the table, allowing her chin to rest on it as she continues to narrow her teasing glance at the flustered blonde. 

“It’s not my fault purple-haired girls are more capable!” Eli raises her hand to protest. As soon as she says that, she closes her mouth, realising it is only going to further boost her purple-haired friend’s ego.

“Awwwww, Elicchi thinks I am capable!” Nozomi coos, getting closer to the blonde. 

Eli pushes her away shyly and tries her best to look serious.

“You’re not capable until you prove your worth!” She then crosses her arm, and tilts her head up in an authoritative manner.

Nozomi giggles, as she pulls back from Eli. 

“What do I have to do then?” Nozomi asks. 

“Come up with events. Promote the school. Whoever that does it the best will get appointed as vice-president.” 

Nozomi nodded slowly to herself, her face closed in with thought. 

“I…” Upon hearing the blonde speak up again, Nozomi stares over at her with tented fingers.

“I believe in you… Nozomi.” Eli said softly, her head slowly lowered to hide the blush on her cheeks. 

“I know you do.” Nozomi replies with a wink.

“Say, do you want to go for parfait after this?” Eli asks, while packing up her stuffs into her bag.

“I thought you’d never ask, Elicchi.”

* * *

As soon as they reach the usual maid cafe in Akihabara, they are once again greeted by the always cheerful Kotori. Sitting near the entrance is the blue-haired girl, and Nozomi remembers her name as Umi Sonoda. However, she is alone, her ginger-haired friend nowhere to be seen.

Even for a short while, Nozomi already observes the way her blue-haired junior looks at Kotori. Her amber eyes seem to piece into Kotori’s, as if there’s a sense of yearning there. She’s not sure what it is, but she does know that she wants to know this girl more.

“Ano, Sonoda-san? Am I right?” Nozomi bends forward to talk to Umi at the table. 

The blue-haired girl snaps her head up, a shocked expression showing on her face. 

“Ah, hai, senpais!” Umi addresses hastily.

“Is it ok if we sit with you?” Nozomi asks politely.

Eli, who is still standing beside Nozomi, wonders why she made the offer so suddenly. But it is nice to see her trying to integrate herself with other students of the school following her vice-president election.

“Umi-chan, is that alright with you?” Kotori asks sweetly in her maid-like voice. 

Umi looks up at her friend, and lowers her head, a tinge of red creeping up at her cheeks. 

“That’s… That’s alright with me.” She replies, and looks back at her two senpais with a shy smile.

Nozomi and Eli takes their seats beside each other opposite the blue-haired girl. Umi, slightly intimidated by their presence, fiddles her fingers underneath the table nervously. 

“Parfaits again?” Kotori asks the two second years. 

“Yes, the same ones we had last week.” Eli answers Kotori. 

Amber eyes darts into another pair of similarly coloured eyes. 

“Another glass of orange juice for you Umi-chan?” 

Umi nods and Kotori goes back into the kitchen to get the three girls’ orders.

Nozomi notices Umi looking at Kotori going off into the distance from her side of her eye. She definitely has something bottled up within her regarding Kotori that she doesn’t dare to admit. 

“Umi-san, don’t worry we’re not doing an interrogation on you.” Eli says in a relaxed manner, her eyes conveying a warm friendliness. 

Umi looks back, and forces a weak smile at them.

“This is Nozomi. She has been in this school for about a week now, and she is going to run for the student council vice-president.” Eli introduces her purple-haired friend to her junior.

Umi nods at a smiling Nozomi. “Nice to meet you.. Nozomi-senpai.” 

“I know it seems like me coming up to you all of a sudden and announcing that I am running for vice-president looks all like a scheme..”

Nozomi tilts her head and winks at the blue-haired girl.

“But it’s not. I genuinely want to know you, Umi-chan.” 

“Hai.” Eli agreed. “And since you’re alone, we thought it would be nice to join you. I mean, unless you’re uncomfortable with it…” Her voice trails off at the end.

Umi’s eyes widen, as her hands go up and waves them profusely. 

“No, no! I am fine with it!” 

Nozomi giggles lightly at the girl in front of her, who clearly has no control over her wildly animated expressions.

“Where’s Honoka today by the way? Is she helping out at her parent’s shop?” Eli asks. 

She then turns towards Nozomi and explains, “Honoka’s family owns a shop selling Japanese sweets. Their manjuus are pretty good.” 

“Ohh… Elicchi needs to take me there somedaaaaaaay.” Nozomi leans into Eli, and coos.

Upon noticing her two senpais being so close to each other, Umi glances around nervously. She feels as though she is invading something, though at the same time she feels it is all so wrong for thinking it out of the context.

Realising there is a question left unanswered, Umi clears her throat softly, getting back the attention of the other two older girls. 

“Honoka is actually at a dance practice she recently took up with her younger sister. She’s influenced by the idol culture I think..” Umi says, feeling slightly relaxed as she talks about her childhood friend.

Nozomi’s turqouise eyes widen in interest. “Are these idol things the popular thing going on now?” 

“I don’t know, it looks like it. But I’m not interested so I didn’t join her.” 

Nozomi presses her knuckles to her chin, thinking about what Umi said.

After a while, Nozomi leans closer in front to Umi, and narrows her glance at her. 

“Otonokizaka has pretty talented ladies, so what are you talented, or more interested in then?” Nozomi says cheekily, recalling the time when Eli asked her this last week.

“Nozomi!!!!” Eli whines at the reference Nozomi made. 

Umi looks at the two with their banter going on in a confused manner, and then back at Nozomi who still has her eyes on her.

“Well I…” Umi starts. 

“Hm?” Nozomi beckons for the blue-haired girl to go on.

“I am in the archery club and...” 

The younger girl pauses, and takes a breath.

“Yeah, I guess that’s it…” 

Nozomi sits back in her seat. 

“That’s so cool.. That means you can-“ 

She holds up her hands in a pretend bow-and-arrow position, and pulls her hand back, to signify the release of an arrow.

“LOVE ARROW SHOOT ME!” 

“Mou, Nozomi…. What are you doing…” Eli slaps her friend’s hand playfully, and looks around at the other customers who are quite amused by the display of the purple-haired girl. She does not deny the small smile forming on her face at Nozomi’s actions though, and looks to her warmly.

At the same time, Umi blushes at the mention of the word “love” and lowers her head.

As if on cue, Kotori then comes back with a glass of iced orange juice, and two servings of parfaits on a tray. The appearance of the ash-brown haired maid makes Umi not only lower her head more, but also makes her subconsciously play with her hair. And of course, Nozomi sees everything.

* * *

It is close to evening by the time Nozomi and Eli leave the maid cafe. The streets of Akihabara become more bustling due to the peak hour, and they stay close as they walk with each other. At times, their fingertips would brush against each other, evoking a nervous blush from both girls.

“I think it was nice talking to Umi-chan don’t you think?” Nozomi asks, breaking the silence. 

“Yeah, she can be quite shy though.” Eli replies. 

“Speak for yourself Elicchi.” Nozomi winks at the taller blonde beside her. 

“Mou…..” Eli drawls out, realising that Nozomi is right ; she herself was rather shy as a person too.

“I think Umi is shy in the sense that she is dying to convey her feelings though..” Nozomi says, as if to herself as she looks up at the swirling vortex of the hues of the evening sky.

“What?” Eli asks, puzzled.

“Nothing.” Nozomi looks back at Eli, and smiles lightly.

“Anyway, the school has an annual culture festival and it is coming up soon right?” Nozomi speaks up louder this time, changing the topic. 

“Yeah, the student council usually plans it. We haven’t done much though..” Eli’s voice trails off at the end, disappointed with the progress of the council. 

The two’s pace slows down as they wait at the traffic light, whereby Nozomi would cross to the direction of her apartment and Eli would wave goodbye to her friend before going back in the opposite direction to her own home.

“I think I have a good idea on how to make it interesting.” Nozomi states, with an air of confidence. 

“Really?” Eli asks back, surprised. 

“Yeah, with some knowledge I have of the first years, I think I know what to do.” Nozomi replies. 

The cars at the traffic light slows down, until it stops and the light turns green for the pedestrians to cross. 

“Alright, see you tomorrow Elicchi!” Nozomi raises up her hand to say goodbye. Before she could cross however, Eli quickly extends her hand and grab Nozomi’s raised hands. Nozomi gets a little taken aback by this action.

“Nozomi! Would you like to have dinner at my house?” Eli asks without much hesitation. Part of it might have been abrupt and subconscious too, and as soon as she delivers the request, she feels flustered. _Why did she even do that? Did her mother even cook for dinner tonight? Why did she want Nozomi around her so much?_

Nozomi swallows her breath and gazes at the blonde in the evening light, staring at her, transfixed. In that moment, Eli looks like a goddess, with her blue eyes that are clear and bright as sapphires. The voices from the bustling crowd seems to grow faint, the only noise coming from the echo of Eli’s request of having dinner at her house. It is then that the loud beating noises from the traffic light cues all the sounds back, and that is when Nozomi realises : she is about to be hit by a car, or worse still, a truck if she doesn’t move.

She quickly hops back to the pedestrian walking area, with Eli tugging her back for support. As both girls are once again by each other’s side, they start to feel the nervous warmth from each other. Then, remembering the dramatic event that just happened, they both exhale a laughter from each other, and look back at each other. 

“Elicchi, next time you want to do that, please do it at a place where I wouldn’t be killed in an instant.” Nozomi teases. 

“It’s not my fault you were standing so still Nozomi!” Eli protests, as they start to gain speed as Eli leads Nozomi to the direction of her house.

“That’s because you’re beautiful like a mango parfait.” Nozomi winks. 

“NOZOMI!!!” Eli exclaims at her friend’s once again quick-witted mouth. Deep down however, her heart thumps wildly and she feels her footsteps get lighter. _Nozomi thought she was beautiful._ But she thought that Nozomi was even more beautiful - she was starting to get attracted to the beauty and wits of this purple-haired girl that could not have found a more perfect time to come into her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no denying i am a huge nozoeli shipper, but a part of me is fascinated by kotoumi, particularly because the nature of their relationship seems so soft, tender and basically too pure for this world, and i think this can aid nozoeli in their own growing relationship too. Once again i hope you liked this chapter and thanks for the continuous kudos! :)


	6. Chapter 6

6\. Cause she's on mine like all day, all the time.

 

Finally, both girls reach the doorstep of Eli’s house. Eli hears the sound of silverware clinking against pots and pans, and heaves a sigh of relief, knowing that her mother has cooked for dinner. Her only worry now is the portion of the food, since Nozomi is here too, and she hasn’t informed her mother about Nozomi coming to her place.

She opens the door, and a waft of curry smell infiltrates the air as they walk in.

“Tadaima!” Eli announces.

“Sorry to intrude!” Nozomi continues beside her as she takes out her shoe and puts them neatly beside a smaller pair of shoes.

Eli notices the extra pair of shoes and realises that Alisa has brought her own friend home too.

They hear a shuffling noise coming from the other side of the house and Eli’s mother approaches them. 

“Ara, Elichika! You didn’t tell me that you were bringing a friend home!” She wipes her hand on her apron, while fixing her tousled blonde hair.

“Konbanwa, nice to meet you.” She begins to greet Nozomi.

Nozomi bows politely. “Nice to meet you too, Ayase-sama! My name is Toujou Nozomi.”

Eli’s mother gives a thoughtful look, before returning her glance back to the purple-haired girl.

“Ara, you’re Eli’s friend who she keeps hanging out with recently!” 

Nozomi smiled and nodded. “Hai, that is me. I’m honoured Elicchi talks about me to you.” She gives a side eye to the blonde beside her. 

Upon hearing the nickname that Nozomi always calls Eli, Eli gives a bashful smile and hurriedly walks past the two women, in an attempt to hide her shyness.

“My daughter rarely brings any friends home, so she’s not good at hosting people. I apologise for that.” The older blonde speaks apologetically. 

Nozomi calmly places her hand on the shoulder of Eli’s mother, and smiles warmly. “It’s okay, thank you for having me!” 

“Ah, I made extra curry today because my younger daughter’s friend is here, so do join us for dinner!” She said enthusiastically. 

“I know, Elicchi asked me here to have dinner actually.” Nozomi winked. Eli has a younger sister though, that’s a new thing she learned…

Eli’s mother furrows her brows, and gives off a “tch” sound with her tongue. 

“This Elichika…. Always giving ideas but never telling me.” 

With that, she goes back into the kitchen to continue preparing her dinner while Nozomi goes to the hallway where the respective rooms are. She sees a room with an open door, and knows it’s definitely Eli’s room. 

Only it isn’t Eli’s room.

Nozomi walks in to see a smaller blonde girl, with similar pair of blue eyes, but with a more child-like innocence evident on her rounder face sitting on the floor. Beside her is a girl of same age, with dark red hair, and realises that she bares a resemblance to Honoka.

“Ano… Konbawa! Sorry, I thought this was Eli’s room!” 

The young blonde grins widely and points to the wall on the right. 

“Onee-chan’s room is on that side!” 

The little girl’s face then sank into a frown when she looks past Nozomi.

Nozomi feels the breath of the girl behind her, and knows that Eli is just right behind her, and probably, giving off a pretend angry face. A smirk forms on her face, as she steps closer into the room, the two young girls with a confused look on their faces.

“Ara, did Elicchi shrink? So kawaii!” Nozomi bends down to match the height of the younger blonde and says gleefully. 

“NOZOMI!” Eli groans from the back and followed her into the girls’ room. 

“Alisa, this is Nozomi. Don’t mind her, she’s such a child.” She narrowed her glance at the cheeky purple-haired girl, and rolls her eyes. 

“Mou, Elicchi….. Aren’t you the child here?” She points to the still-confused Alisa and beams widely.

“Nozomi, you’re scaring my little sister.” Eli reprimands, although she isn’t really angry.

“Am I scaring you Alisa-chan?” Nozomi’s gaze softens, and the young blonde starts to smile. 

“No, you’re not. Nozomi onee-sama is funny!” She speaks in a sweet, child-like voice.

Alisa then turns towards her dark red-haired friend and they laugh to each other and at that moment, Nozomi envies the sight of seeing two young girls being close friends with one another. She never had that.

Eli huffs and eventually gives up the argument banter with Nozomi, then proceeding to sit beside her and the two young girls.

Nozomi’s heart flutters as she feels the blonde’s presence beside her again. At least she has Eli as a friend now.

“And what’s your name?” Nozomi turns to the red-haired girl. 

“I’m Yukiho.” The slightly mature voice takes Nozomi aback, but she can see from her interactions with Alisa that she’s still just an innocent young girl.

“Yukiho is Honoka’s younger sister. She’s in the same school and class as Alisa.” Eli explains. 

Nozomi nods her head. “That’s nice, you all know each other.” 

At that moment, Nozomi feels a deep sinking feeling in her stomach. She feels alone, somehow. 

Eli sees it, and knows it. She knows that Nozomi is feeling a little sad from the way she responded in a more serious, deeper tone, especially in the change of her voice where her kansai dialect is hardly noticeable. 

“Come on.” She raises an outstretched hand to Nozomi as she gets up. 

“Let’s go to my room. I’m sure these two need to finish up their homework before dinner.” 

Nozomi looks up at the blonde, and she happily takes Eli’s hands. However, instead of just holding it, she interlaces her fingers together with Eli’s smooth long fingers, causing the blonde to widen her eyes with an obvious tint of pink colouring her cheeks. 

Knowing she has made the blonde shy and flustered, Nozomi grins to herself. However, she is actually feeling rather shy herself, and she can feel her own fingers shaking from holding Eli’s hand so intimately. Needless to say, she likes it. In fact, she thinks that she might be obsessed with the touch of Eli’s delicate hands in hers, and she doesn’t want to let go so soon.

“It was nice to meet you, Alisa-cchi and Yukiho-cchi!” Nozomi exclaims as they leave the room, their hands still in a tight interlock. 

“Really Nozomi? I think Elicchi still has a better ring to it though.” Eli says, a little smugly as she leads Nozomi into her room. 

Eli’s room has a classic feel to it, with simple beige-coloured walls and things you would usually see in a bedroom. However, what strikes Nozomi is the various photo frames with pictures of similar blonde-haired women in ballet attires. There are also two photos with a young girl in a pink ballet tutu. 

“Eli…. Is that you?” Nozomi asks cautiously, noting the blonde’s sudden quietness. 

There is a strain in Eli’s smile as she brushes her fingertips across the photo frame. She takes a breath and exhales with a soft sigh. 

“Oba-sama, oka-san….” Eli continues to trails her fingers across the different photos, until she stops at the photo of the young child. 

“And me…” 

Eli’s lips trembles, the thought of her disappointments lingering in her head. 

“You couldn’t make it as far as them… Right?” Nozomi asked carefully, wanting to deliver her question in a way that didn’t sound too demoralising. 

A still silence punctuates the air of the room, and suddenly Nozomi realises she might have made a mistake asking that. 

“Ano..” 

“You’re right.” Eli finally speaks up before Nozomi can continue.

“No matter how hard I tried, I never quite made it as far as them. So the only thing I can do now is to show I am capable of something by preventing my grandmother’s alma matter from closing.” 

Nozomi purses her lips, and nods her head to herself thoughtfully. 

“I guess it’s time to start putting in 110% for my cultural event planning.” 

She looks back at Eli, and her hands move over to her waist, startling the blonde a little. She pulls her closer, and eventually, envelopes her into a hug. 

“Nozomi! What are you-“ Eli shrieks in shock at the sudden closeness of them. 

“Shh.” Nozomi shushes the blonde, and tightens the embrace. 

“Let’s do this together, Elicchi.” 

Feeling more relaxed by Nozomi’s voice and warm hands around her, Eli’s free hands by her side then goes up and wraps them around the crook of the purple-haired’s neck, and rests her head on her shoulder into the hug. 

After separating from their embrace, a smirk overcomes Nozomi’s face. 

“By the way, when I meant let’s do this together, I meant me watching you dance ballet.” 

Both girls pause for a while, and Eli finally huffs with a slight pout to her face.

“Woah! Is Elicchi pouting? Kawaii!” Nozomi coos, while cozying up to the blonde, who only pushes her away after.

“Stop being an annoying eggplant!” Eli retorts, with a slight mischief to her tone. 

“Eggplant?” Nozomi asks, her head tilting in a confused manner.

“I mean…” Eli shifts in her position, her eyes skipping around the room. _She really needed to stop blurting out weird things unknowingly…_

“Your hair is purple.. Li-li-like an eggplant!” Eli stutters.

“Hm?” Nozomi questioned, edging closer to her, with a narrowing glance. 

“Then what about the green on top of the eggplant?” 

Eli’s eyes buries into Nozomi’s and she quickly finds an answer.

“The green comes from your eyes!” 

Nozomi pulls back, cupping her hands to her lips with a giggle. “Not bad, Elicchi.” 

* * *

Eli sits beside Nozomi at the dining table, with Alisa and Yukiho on the opposite end. Eli’s mother sits at the head of the table. The table is filled with a delicious spread of curry rice and Yakiniku.

“Ikadakimasu!” Eli’s mother calls out, and the other girls follow with the same greeting. 

“Ah Nozomi-san, Yukiho-san, feel free to take more if you would like.” Eli’s mother says sweetly. 

“Thank you, you’re too kind!” Nozomi answers back politely while using her chopsticks to take a slice of yakiniku. 

She takes a bite of it and widens her eyes in delight at how good it tastes. It most certainly beats her own cooked yakiniku. 

“Ayase-sama, as a person who loves yakiniku, this is the best I have tasted!” Nozomi exclaims delightfully.

The older blonde’s facial features soften as she hears the compliment and smiles pleasantly. 

“Please, call me Anna, and I’m glad you love it.” 

She turns her head to her older daughter.

“Eli, how long have you known Nozomi-san?” 

Eli almost chokes on her meat, and quickly takes a sip of water to hide her reaction. This question sounds too much, if not, exactly like a question a parent usually asks their child when dating someone. 

“She just transferred a week ago.” Eli begins.

“And we kind of just made friends from there.” 

She hears a soft sigh escape from beside her and snaps her head to the purple-haired’s direction. 

“I don’t know if Elicchi feels the same way, but she’s my best friend. I am grateful to her for always being with me and helping me out when I just transferred here.” 

Gleaming turquoise eyes bore into hers and she starts taking slower bites as she feels a jittery feeling churning in her stomach. A part of her is happy that Nozomi thinks of her so dearly already, but another part of her is undecided about the way she phrased the word ‘best friend’, because somehow, Eli has been craving Nozomi’s presence which makes her feel fluttery inside and certainly that’s not how a normal best friend should feel like. It feels something… More than a best friend. _But no, no it can’t possibly be… She must only be feeling this way because this is the first time she has felt such a connection with a friend. It must have been a misunderstood feeling…._

“Yukiho is also my best friend!” Alisa comments happily opposite the two girls.

Eli can’t help but to smile at the sight of the two adolescent girls being so genuinely happy in their own growing friendship. Without looking to her side, she knows that Nozomi is smiling too. Having a friend is indeed a lovely thing.

* * *

Eli hugs her pillow close to her chest, as she lays on her bed with her phone in her hand. She stares at her message screen with Nozomi, and huffs in exasperation. She hates this feeling. She hates that even though Nozomi has left an hour ago, she can still smell her perfume. _Does she even wear perfume….?_ Eli doesn’t know, but there is a distinguishing scent that is oddly calming—and very vexing, as Eli starts to think more of Nozomi; her damn eyes that seem to pierce through her and see through her weak side, and most importantly her voice. Even though most of the stuff coming from her mouth are played off as humour, there’s no denying that Eli loves it when Nozomi speaks tenderly when talking about serious issues, her kansai accent diminishing at the same time. All too soon, she starts remembering the way Nozomi’s arms feel around her during the hug in her room, and the touch of her soft, moisturised fingers interlocking with hers.

She hugs her pillow closer and buries her head in it, letting out a small groan. This is such a frustrating feeling. She peeks out from her pillow to look at the blank text.

Ayase Eli (10.20PM): Nozomi,

Ayase Eli (10.20PM): Nozomi, I like you.

She looks back at what she typed and starts to feel her heart racing and her fingers on the phone shaking momentarily. 

She quickly deletes what she wrote and stares back at the once again, blank text screen. 

_Nozomi (´ ▽ ` )b is typing…_

She heaves a sigh of relief, who knows what could happen if Eli had sent that stupid risky text since Nozomi is online at the same time. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.21PM): do you want to walk to school with me tmr? ( ^∇^ )

Just when Eli thought her wave of panic will be over, it all comes back to her again and she finds herself clutching her pillow tighter to her chest, her fingernails digging so hard into the polyester, leaving an indent there. _Nozomi asked her out to walk to school together tomorrow, that sounds like a little morning stroll-date._ Eli shakes her head, she needs to stop thinking too much about it. It’s probably just a friendly gesture. With that, she takes another deep breath and starts typing her reply.

Ayase Eli (10.22PM): Sure, where do I meet you? :) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.22PM): do you know where the kanda shrine is? i always go there in the morning before school 

Ayase Eli (10.22PM): Yeah, it’s near my place. So I’ll just meet you there first? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.23PM): yes, yes see u there (｡－‿ ◕｡) 

Ayase Eli (10.23PM): Harasho. Goodnight, Nozomi. 

She quickly goes to the notes section of her phone where she saves the emoticons at, and copies it, then going back to her text screen.

Ayase Eli (10.23PM): (´・ω・`)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.24PM): eheheh, night night elicchi ~ (｡－‿ ◕｡) 

Eli locks her phone, and throws it on the bed beside her. She plops down onto her bed with a soft thud, and sighs in exasperation. For once in her life, she agrees that all blondes are dumb. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't mean to offend any blondes with that last line, it's just a reference to the dumb blonde joke haha


	7. Chapter 7

7\. Forget me not, Forget me now.

 

Eli tightens her ponytail, and tucks a few loose blonde strands behind her ears. She puts on her blue blazer over her school uniform, and makes one last check at herself in the full-length mirror before going out of the house.

“So early today? It’s only 7.10AM!” Eli’s mother rubs her eyes sleepily as she walks out of her own bedroom at the same time, awakened by the noise of the door opening. 

“Yeah, I’m walking to school with Nozomi today.” Eli answers with a bright smile. 

Her mother cocks her head to the side, her face lightening up a little. “You two are very good friends huh?” 

Eli blushes, with an awkward smile. “Yeah, I guess we are.” 

Eli’s mother reciprocates the smile, warmed by the fact that her daughter has been more social. Suddenly, her eyes widen as she goes over to the dining table and picks up an envelope, then handing it to Eli.

“What’s this?” Eli asks, investigating the contents of the envelope. It says that it’s a pair of movie entrance tickets for Kimi No Na Wa to watch at any time.

“I got this from my friend. You know me, I don’t watch these amine stuffs… You can go and watch it with Nozomi.” 

Eli chuckles at the mention of the mispronounced ‘anime’ from her mom and happily accepts the invitation, placing the envelope into her bag. She goes to her, and wraps the older woman in her arms. 

“Thank you oka-san!” 

“Hai, hai, you’re welcome. Get going!” She taps her daughter’s back and they pull away from their hug. 

Before Eli walks out of the door, she turns back to her mother, who is still watching behind her.

“Oka-san?” 

Her mother cocks her head to the side, probing her to go on.

Eli gives a toothy grin. “By the way, it’s anime, not amine.” 

* * *

Being extra early still isn’t enough. As Eli takes one last step from the winding stairs up to the red and green coloured temple, she can already see the back view of her purple-haired friend. _Seriously, how early does Nozomi wake up everyday?_

The temple is still quite empty, with exception of only an elderly couple and a middle-aged woman burning incense. She doesn’t come to temples, but the serenity of the place makes her feel welcome somehow. She sees Nozomi bowing in front of the main hall, and slowly approaches her. 

“Ohayo, Elicchi.” Nozomi greets softly while still in her position. 

Eli gulps, frightened by how she manages to notice she is there. 

“O-o-ohayo!” She mutters in a staggered breath. 

Nozomi turns around, and raises her brows at the still panic-stricken blonde. 

“Mou, for a ballerina your footsteps are pretty loud you know…” 

Eli relaxes at the sight of the beautiful girl in front of her, with a serene, yet slightly cheeky smile on her face.

“That’s untrue. You probably have super sonic ears or something.” 

“Nope I don’t!” Nozomi attests calmly, maintaining the grin on her face. 

“Anyway, do you come here often?” 

Eli looks at the surroundings of the place and shakes her head.

“Nope, I don’t.”

Her hands go to the collar of her uniform, and she pulls it out a little, exposing a little of her skin.

“Woah woah, Elicchi is being dirty in a shrine!” Nozomi teases while cupping her hands to her mouth. 

“Quiet, Nozomi!” Eli hushes the purple-haired girl, and begins to take out the cross necklace she wears. 

“I am Orthodox Christian.” Eli explains, showing the necklace to Nozomi.

“But I can’t say that I’m really religious either.” She tucks the necklace back into her uniform and pats her collar area to neaten it out. 

“Ohhhhhhh.” Nozomi breathes out while giving a thoughtful look. 

“I really like this place though. It’s so spiritual.” Eli states. 

Eli’s lips starts to curl into a slight smile, adoring the sight of her friend. 

“It reminds me of you.” 

This time, Nozomi is the one to be taken aback. 

“Me?” She asks, slightly astonished. 

“Yeah, it’s a peaceful place. And you, at the same time, look really at ease here.”

Eli watches as Nozomi’s gaze softens, her beguiling turquoise eyes gleaming brightly against the morning sun.

“Thank you… Elicchi.” Nozomi replies, and closes her eyes in content. 

Eli’s forehead crinkles in confusion, wondering why Nozomi is suddenly thanking her. 

Before she can ask her, Nozomi opens her eyes again and matches Eli’s gaze.

“Nobody told me how much they remind me of something before. You’re the first.” 

Nozomi lowers her head lightly, resembling a semi-bow. 

“So thank you, Elicchi.” 

_It is kind of weird,_ Eli thinks. To see the usual teasing-Nozomi suddenly become all serious. But it only made her look more adorable and Eli can’t help but to be mesmerised by the sight. _Gosh, she was so hooked._ But she couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend that she looks really beautiful. So instead, she tilts her head to the direction of the exit of the temple.

“Shall we go to school?”

* * *

Nozomi’s heartbeat is still beating rapidly as they walk to school together. Ever since they left the shrine, the words that came out from Eli’s mouth still resonates in her mind. It’s probably just a casual comment from the blonde, but to Nozomi, it means everything. It means so much that it actually makes her want to cry, because she finally doesn’t feel alone anymore. She looks to the taller girl beside her, her blonde hair glowing brightly, matching the bright rays of sun in the morning sky.

Eli means everything. 

“So,” Eli starts to speak. Nozomi quickly turns her head away, and focuses on a red car driving past on the road to hide the fact that she was staring. 

“What are your plans for the school cultural festival?” 

Nozomi turns her head back to face the blonde.

“Well, the cultural festival usually revolves around different classes setting up booths, games, or even a cafe space in the class right?” 

Eli nods her head.

“Yeah, so I was thinking, for example, a second year class can combine with students from third year, or even first years, to work together to organise their class event. I think it’s interesting because it shows how Otonokizaka promotes cross-level participation, and this will make future students feel more accepted into the school.” 

Eli takes in everything Nozomi says, and nods her head in agreement. 

“That’s a very good idea, Nozomi. It’s simple, but it has a lot of meaning. I’m with you on this.” 

“Really?” Nozomi’s eyes widen, pleased that her proposal has impressed the student council president.

“Absolutely. I noticed that most of the students only mingle around within their years, and it’s not really good. The second years won’t go to the third years for help in their future university options, while the first years will always feel like they are being overshadowed by the seniors.” 

Both girls then stop at a traffic light before crossing to the school. 

“Eh… But speak for yourself Elicchi, I don’t see you mixing around with the second years, or any of our senpais either.” Nozomi mentions teasingly. 

“Hey I told you, I can only mix around with a few, like Kotori, Umi and Honoka. It’s just in my personality I guess…” Eli murmurs sheepishly. 

“Hai, hai…” Nozomi acknowledges with a grin. 

“Speaking of Honoka, I am thinking of asking her to perform some idol routine that she’s been crazy over. I think it would be interesting for the school, don’t you think? I just need to know who else in the school is fond of idols too…” Nozomi’s voice trails off thoughtfully. 

The traffic light then signals for the pedestrians to cross, and they start to pick up pace as they cross the road.

“Nico.” Eli says.

Nozomi looks to the blonde, slightly confused, but she still curls up her lips and forms a wide smile. 

“Nozomi, why are you smiling?” Eli asks, baffled by the sudden reaction of Nozomi.

“Didn’t you tell me to smile?” Nozomi answers. 

There is a slight pause, until Eli starts to let out a snort and escalates into a hysterical laugh. 

“Mou, what are you laughing at?” Nozomi looks at her, confused, but at the same time, amused by Eli’s burst of laughter and rarely-heard snort. 

They step onto the pavement leading to the school after crossing the road. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I snort?” Eli asks, still in between laughter. 

“Yes.” Nozomi replies indignantly, pinching her eyebrows together. “And it was a very loud one.” It is quite a change of roles between them this time, as Eli is the one who is being comical, while Nozomi is now, the one to be quite done with the others’ antic. 

“Ah, that was quite a laugh.” Eli exclaims, after calming down from her laughing fit. 

“Nico is actually our classmate. It’s understandable that you don’t know her because she can go quite unnoticed sometimes. But she’s been expressing her love for idols since last year, so you can try to approach her.” 

As soon as Nozomi hears that, her face goes radish red and she whines, only allowing the blonde to start laughing again. 

“Mou, Elicchi, stop teasing me! Besides,” She puffs her chest up more, and gives off a confident glance to Eli. 

“Be glad you got to see my pretty smile.” 

Although Eli is still cackling crazily, she had to admit, she really was lucky to have seen the most adorable smile this morning, and this only elevates her feelings towards Nozomi.

* * *

“Okay, that’s all for today. Don’t forget to finish up your trigonometric ratios worksheet at home and bring it back next week!” That sensei for mathematics class announces.

With that, some girls in the class go ahead to take out their bentos for their break time. 

As Nozomi closes her textbook, she feels a tap on her back and spins around to meet Eli’s glance.

“I’m going to ask the sensei about this equation, I’ll be back soon!” 

Nozomi watches the blonde rush to the sensei who is about to leave, her blonde ponytail waving in the distance. 

Just then, she feels another tap on the side of her shoulder, and she turns to see a person who is quite unfamiliar. Ok maybe she has noticed the pair of black high ponytails, but she has never really seen her enough to recognise her fully. 

“Oi, I heard you will be in charge of the cultural festival.” She speaks in a low voice, donning a condescending look. 

“Yeah, I am.” Nozomi answers, still taking in the appearance of the girl. She has a really small frame and one would have easily mistaken her for a first year, or worse still, a middle school student. Her pigtails doesn’t make her look any more mature, but Nozomi thought she still looks rather adorable. Well, with exception of the rather moody expression she had on her face at the moment… 

“What are you staring at?” She says dully. 

“Nothing, go on.” Nozomi replies cheerfully, undisturbed by the moodiness of the small girl.

“I want to perform during the cultural festival.” She says in one breath. Suddenly, her red eyes start to widen, and she starts to lift up both hands, closing her middle and ring fingers, leaving the rest straight, resembling the famous spiderman hand pose. She turns the corners of her mouth up, and takes in a breath.

“I want everyone to see the number one idol Ni-“ 

“Ara, could you be Nico?” Nozomi interrupts the excited girl, and she quickly sinks her face into her usual moody demeanour. 

“You interrupted me.” She huffs and crosses her arms together. 

“I will let you perform your idol routine.” Nozomi replies calmly, and this triggers another change of facial expression from the small black-haired girl again. She goes back to being excited, as she squints her eyes into a huge smile. 

“Really? You would let Nico-Nico Ni perform?” She answers in a jovial tone. 

“Sure.” 

Nico starts to wave her hands around, keeping her finger pose intact. 

“On one condition.” 

Nico stops what she is doing, and stands still with her hands on her hips, awaiting the purple-haired girl’s response. 

“I want you to perform with Honoka, a first-year.” 

There is a moment of silence between the two of them, until Nozomi starts to notice the girl’s red pupils dilate, her brows furrowing in an angry manner.

_Seriously_ , Nozomi thinks to herself. This girl not only looked like a child, but her attitude change was like one too. But it’s not something too hard to handle. 

“I never asked for any backup dancer!” Nico groans impatiently. 

“The purpose of this year’s cultural festival is to promote bonding between all students, so yes, I’m going to get another girl who is just as passionate about idols to dance with you. And NOT as a backup dancer.” Nozomi emphasises in a more serious tone. 

“But I don’t want t-“ 

Nozomi sits back in her seat, and crosses her leg, while folding her arms together. She then winks at the small girl. 

“Honoka or no Idol performance at all.” 

Nico clasps her fists together, eyeing the purple-haired girl.

“There’s a NO in this, whatever Honk’s name and that means no to her performing with her!” Nico insists. 

Nozomi lifts a finger in front of the girl’s face, and wiggles it around playfully. 

“Then it’s Nico-Nico No idol performances at all!” She teases, attempting to make a pun at the girl’s claimed persona. 

Nico seems to be seething with rage, but she eventually gives up and folds her arms, matching Nozomi’s position. 

“Fine. Whatever. It’s better than nothing.” She says dully, knowing she is being defeated. 

“I’ll let you know more details soon.” Nozomi relaxes in her sit, and winks again at the girl.

“Yeah, ok.” She mutters as she starts to walk back to her sit. 

“What else do you have to say?” Nozomi starts to speak up, altering the attention of the other girl again.

“Eh, whatever.” She repeats, her back still facing Nozomi. 

Nozomi gets out of her seat, and walks towards the short girl. She bends down to her shoulders, and whispers in her ear, “Hmm??"

“You know, there’s a NO in your name too and it means there's NOthing else I can say!” 

Nozomi clasps her hands to her mouth, pretending to be shocked at the girl’s response. 

Nico narrows her glance at the taller girl, and makes one final huff. “Fine. Thank you." 

Nozomi then proceeds to clap her hand inaudibly, as Nico returns to her seat. That wasn’t too bad after all.

“Wow, I see you’re not wasting any time.” A voice echoes from behind her, and knowing who it’s from, she spins around the face the blonde and her icy blue eyes. 

“Of course.” Nozomi winks.

“Nico was the one who approached me first though.” 

Eli gives a thoughtful nod, and reaches into her bag to take out her bento box. At the same time, she sees an envelope poking out from one of her textbooks in the bag. She wants to ask Nozomi to the movie with her after school, but somehow her hands can’t bring herself to lift up the white envelope and pop the question to her. She quickly shoves the envelope deeper into her bag, and only takes out her bento box. Maybe that can wait till later.

“Lunch?” Eli asks, lifting the box in front of Nozomi.

Nozomi smiles at the sight of the blonde looking really innocent and cute, and nods her head. She takes out her own bento box and shows it to her. 

“Can we have lunch at a different place though?” Nozomi requests. She intends to find the first years, and talk to them about how she can incorporate their skills and hobbies into the possible event they can set up for their class for the festival.”

* * *

Soon, Nozomi and Eli find themselves sitting inside of the school’s archery club room, after knowing that Kotori and Umi are in there during their break. Nozomi has never entered the room, and is fascinated by how thoughtfully structured the place was. The room has an open area which faces the garden of the school, and three targets are placed there for members to shoot the arrow at from inside the room.

Both Nozomi and Eli watch the two younger girls in front of them, while quietly nibbling on their food. 

Umi carefully lifts her bow, and extends the arrow to the back, in position to release the bow into the target. She narrows her amber eyes at the the center of it with a steely determination, and starts to loosen her grip on the arrow, allowing it to fly into her desired aim. 

“Ah, good job Umi-chan!” Kotori claps her hands and cheers, to which Umi blushes at. 

Umi starts to put her bow and arrow back into the holder carefully, and joins her two senpais with Kotori following behind. 

“That was really nice, Umi-chan!” Nozomi compliments, giving a thumbs up. 

“Ah—arigato, Nozomi-senpai.” 

Nozomi and Eli’s glance flit to each other, as if knowing what they have on each other’s minds. They turn back to their two juniors, with a sly smile matching on their faces.

“No calling us senpais!” Eli lectures teasingly. 

“Hai, from now on we are friends and we should take away the junior-senior relation between us.” Nozomi adds on. 

Umi and Kotori look to each other, wondering what’s with their two upperclassmen's sudden reason for saying that. 

“Ano.. Why did you want to find us?” Kotori asks, this time her voice less sounding like a maid in the maid cafe and like a usual student instead.

“Well, Elicchi and I thought that it would be nice if you two could join our class for our class cultural event planning!” 

“Us?” Umi’s eyes widen as she points to herself and Kotori. 

Nozomi nods her head with a smile. “Yes, maybe Umi can put something to good use with her archery skills, and Kotori can bring her pleasant maid charisma to attract people!” 

“I heard that Kotori-san is very good at designing costumes too am I right?” Eli adds on, from her knowledge of the first year designing costumes from a school play she has seen from them earlier this year. 

This time, it is Kotori’s turn to blush lightly and raise up her hands to wave around. 

“I’m not that really good at designing.” She says shyly. 

“Kotori is really good at it, I still have the outfit she made for me last time for our school play.” Umi starts to speak up, more confidently this time.

Nozomi notices Umi looking at Kotori tenderly while talking about her good works, and smiles lightly at the interaction. 

“So what is your class planning to do?” Umi turns back to Nozomi and Eli, asking with an anticipated curiosity. 

“Mou, Umi-chan is so interested huh?” Nozomi teases lightly, making the blue-haired girl lower her head a little shyly. 

“We haven’t exactly come up with anything yet as we still have to decide with our own class, but we will let you know as soon as possible.” Eli states.

“Actually I think we can finalise an idea today.” Nozomi chimes in, and the blonde looks at her, wondering how it’s possible.

“We still have half a day at school, so I can round up the class and ask them after lunch. Shall we, Elicchi?” 

The blonde can only look at Nozomi, and soften her gaze at her, attracted by her determination.

* * *

“A haunted house? Do all of us want a haunted house?” Nozomi asks again for confirmation as she stands in front of the class.

Everyone else raises their hand, except three girls. Nozomi turns to the first girl with short brown hair sitting in the front row, getting her attention.

“I still think a maid cafe would be fun. There’s food and fanciful decorations to work around with.” 

Nozomi considers it with a thoughtful nod and looks at another girl with lighter brown hair with black spectacles few rows behind.” 

“I think it would be so cool to have a gaming play room! I can bring all my game stations and latest games!” The girl gushes, to which Nozomi notices a few other of her classmates roll their eyes at. 

She then gazes over to the middle of the classroom, and almost giggles when she sees who it is who doesn’t raise up her hand.

“I don’t like haunted houses.” The blonde speaks up, but beneath that bold exterior she knows that Eli could secretly be timid and afraid of these kind of scary stuffs.

“Could it be.. Our favourite Seito kaicho is afraid of haunted houses?” Nozomi teases her friend in front of the whole class, to which a few laugh. 

The red on Eli’s cheeks becomes more evident as she crosses her arms and looks away from Nozomi. 

“I- I just don’t fancy these typical carnival activities!” Eli exclaims, her face still flushing wildly. 

“Alright, alright.” Nozomi speaks up again, getting back the attention of the whole class, except one red-faced blonde. 

“Then let’s have a maid cafe and a gaming room inside a not-so-typical haunted house shall we?” Nozomi announces. 

The blonde finally looks back at Nozomi and her weird suggestion. _She really is something indeed…._

* * *

The last bell signals the end of the school day, and all the students start to pack up, except some girls who are on classroom duty today. Nozomi picks up her bag and walks over to the seat behind her.

“Elicchi, do you realise that we haven’t actually talked to Honoka yet? And I even said that Nico would perform with her at the cultural festival.” Nozomi ends her sentence with a sheepish smile. She must have been too excited with the planning and everything.

“Ah, Honoka..” Eli rests her chin on her knuckles, trying to remember.

“If I’m not wrong Honoka should be helping out at her mother’s sweet shop after school today.” 

“Well….” Nozomi proceeds to inch in closer to the blonde’s face.

“Can this sweet girl take me to the sweet shop then?” She winks. 

Eli backs away a little, astounded by the sudden closeness of Nozomi. However, with the closeness, she can inhale Nozomi’s usual scent, the one that lingered in her bedroom last night, and all the frustration of this little attraction she has to Nozomi comes back to her, hence making it hard to deny her request. Suddenly, she remembers the movie invitation she has yet to ask Nozomi along with and her heart sinks at her incompetence of being courageous enough to ask the question.

“Eh? What’s wrong? Do you have something on?” Nozomi asks, wondering why the blonde is taking so long to reply. 

Eli snaps her head up, eyes gazing into Nozomi’s. 

“Ah- it’s nothing, let’s go!” She zips her bag, and hoists it over her shoulder, leaving the classroom with her friend. Maybe that can wait till later. She will ask Nozomi later, even if it costs her another extremely red-faced moment.

* * *

“Ehhhhh, Eli-senpai, Nozomi-senpai! What are you doing here?” The bouncy ginger-haired girl asks them from the front counter as they enter the Homura bakery.

“Ah, I brought Nozomi here to try out some of your manjuus.” Eli says. 

“And we want to ask you a few things too!” Nozomi joins in cheerfully.

* * *

“Here you go! The Kousaka’s favourite red-bean paste manjuu!” Honoka presents the plate of manjuus in front of Nozomi and Eli, beaming proudly.

“Thank you Honoka-chan, it looks great!” Nozomi picks up the confection, and takes a small bite out of it. 

Her eyes widen as she lets the taste of the red bean paste linger in her mouth, amazed by how smooth and balanced the sweetness was. 

“It’s really good!” Nozomi exclaims in delight, taking another bite. 

Honoka looks back at them, the smile on her face unwavering. 

“So, Honoka-chan, we actually came here to ask you if you would like to perform at the cultural festival?” Nozomi asks, after swallowing the piece of confection. 

Just like Eli, Honoka has blue eyes, only darker, and they enlarge as soon as she hears what Nozomi said.

“Really? I think it would be so interesting!! It will be like I’m an idol!” Honoka stands up excitedly, gushing at the thought. 

“You will have to perform with a second year though, I will hook you two up together!” Nozomi explains. 

Honoka bends down again, pressing her palms on the table while looking close at the two girls. 

“No way! There’s a senpai who actually likes idols too?” 

“Yeah, apparently she has been crazy over idols for a while now.” She turns to the blonde, who looks slightly out of the conversation as she seems to be staring off into the distance.

“Right Elicchi?” 

The blonde snaps out of her thoughts, looking back at Nozomi and Honoka, slightly disorientated. 

“Uhh, what?” She asks, clearly uncertain of what’s going on.

“Nico-chan likes idols too right?” Nozomi repeats. 

“Ohh- ah, hai, yes, she does.” She forces a smile, slightly embarrassed that she hasn’t been listening. 

All this time, Eli has been thinking of ways to form her sentences to ask Nozomi out to watch the movie with her.

* * *

“Thank you for coming! I look forward to the cultural festival!” Honoka waves at Nozomi and Eli as they leave the Homura bakery at 3PM. 

Nozomi sighs pleasantly. This day couldn’t go any better. She turns to Eli by the side, who seems to still be lost in her thoughts.

“Elicchi?” Nozomi asks with a concerned expression on her face.

“Ah-“ She turns to her, smiling cooly. 

“Yes, Nozomi?” 

“We still have time, we can further discuss our ideas with Kotori and Umi at the maid cafe since Honoka said they are there right now.” 

She tilts her head, retaining her smile. “We can get parfaits at the same time!” 

Upon hearing this, Eli feels a slight discomfort. At this rate she can never ask Nozomi to go to the movie with her. It’s been almost a day, and she has never taken out the envelope and asked the damn question. Even if she builds up the courage to do so, they haven’t exactly had time to be alone at all today. This upsets Eli - no, it frustrates her. 

“I don’t have time.” Eli then says, with a dull look on her face. 

Taken aback by the sudden rejection and change of expression on Eli’s face, Nozomi’s face goes slack with her mouth hanging slightly open. 

Eli lowers her head, and sinks her teeth into her lips.

“I- I have to help Alisa with her homework.” She mutters under her breath. 

“Oh.” Nozomi breathes out. Suddenly, she realises she may have been too forceful with her decisions, and making Eli feel like she’s just being dragged around. She looks down at the floor, feeling a little guilty.

“Ja, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Eli quickly turns around, holding her bag close to her as she walks. Somehow, she keeps registering the hurt on Nozomi’s face and she doesn’t dare to look back.

* * *

Eli lies on the side of her body on the bed, looking at her phone beside her. She can’t quite forget the way she turned Nozomi down, and even with that gesture, she is still half-hoping that Nozomi will still text her.

But she hasn’t. 

And knowing that Nozomi is fast texter, there’s no reason that Nozomi wouldn’t text Eli. Eli sinks her face into the cotton sheets. She’s really done it this time. Nozomi must be upset at her. As she groans into her sheets, she realises that this is the second consecutive night that she’s lying on her bed, consumed with frustration on dealing with her feelings for Nozomi. 

She thinks about the events this morning, how Nozomi was so full of passion when talking about her plans, how happy she was knowing that people are actually supportive of it, how Nozomi always looks to Eli and asks her if its okay to go ahead. Wait…

Nozomi has always asked Eli if it was alright. She was always turning to her, and asking “Shall we go here?” or, “Shall we go there?” It was always a question, and not just Nozomi calling the shots. She always needed Eli’s approval.

She springs up in bed, and hugs her legs close to her chest, groaning into it further. 

Nozomi and her were supposed to do this together, how could Eli forget? How could she just leave her alone and think about herself? How could she just let Nozomi feel insecure and lonely just when things were looking up for her? 

“Baka baka baka!!” Eli screams as she uncurls herself and plops back onto the bed. 

At the moment, there is a knock on the door and it opens slowly, with Eli’s mother surfacing behind it. 

“Everything okay in there?” She asked, her brows furrowing in curiosity as she peeks into the door. 

Eli’s head snaps to her mother, and as if on cue, she throws a pillow to her mother’s face, extremely embarrassed for being caught talking to herself.

“Nothing- ah- everything’s okay!” She yelps. 

“Mou, Eli, what’s up with that?” Her mother takes the pillow and throws it back, landing on Eli’s bed. 

She checks the time on the clock in the living room, and looks back at her older daughter.

“It’s still quite early. Didn’t you go for the movie?” She asks. 

Eli sighs, and takes the pillow she thrown, hugging it and facing away from her mother.

“I’ll go another day. I’m tired.” She says dejectedly. 

“Hm.. Is that so.. Goodnight then.” She turns off the main light in Eli’s room, making sure to leave the only nightlight in her room on as she is aware of her daughter’s fear of the dark.

She starts to close the door, and mutters, “Baka Elichika.” before closing it completely. 

Eli starts to feel hot tears marring the clarity of her vision. She really is a baka Elichika. 

At the moment, she hears the beeping sound on her phone, and grabs it, rubbing the tears away to see her phone clearer. It is a text notification from Nozomi. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.17PM): kanda shrine now. you and i? 

Eli quickly sits up on the bed, reading the text again. Her blue eyes are rid of sadness, and they light up in anticipation. She quickly gets out of the bed, and turns the light back on in her room. 

Ayase Eli (8.17PM): Be there in 15 minutes! 

Eli quickly takes a pair of jeans, and wears it hastily. She doesn’t change her top, since it won’t look too awkward with the jeans and quickly runs out of her room. She runs past her mother and sister, who were in the living room watching the television, both pairs of blue eyes staring at her dumbfoundedly. 

“Ara, what’s going on?” Eli’s mother asks as Eli starts to put on a pair of sneakers near the doorway. 

“I’ll be back soon!” Eli chants out as she opens the door, and runs out. 

Alisa nudges at her mother, with a look of concern on her face.

“I think onee-chan isn’t wearing any bra.” 

Her mother’s eyes shoot up, and she shakes her head with a loud sigh. “Baka Elichika…..”

* * *

Compared to this morning, the streets of Akiba is less crowded, with the only sources of light illuminating from the street lamps and headlights from cars that drives past. It’s a pretty cool night, the salubrious night air pretty inviting for a good night’s rest. However, Eli is the opposite. Her heart beats fast as she picks up pace on her two feet, going past the same route to the kanda shrine. As soon as she reaches the stairway, she inhales deeply, and exhales, then quickly jogging up the stairs, two steps at a time.

When she reaches the top, she sees Nozomi’s back profile, reminiscent of this morning. She catches her breath, and starts to approach the girl. 

“Caught you again!” Nozomi exclaims before Eli can even reach her. Eli sighs, knowing that she has once again made the sound of her footsteps too evident. 

Nozomi turns around, her purple hair in a side braid this time, and Nozomi gulps at the sight of the beauty. Even in the dark, Nozomi still looks so radiant, her turquoise eyes glowing more than ever. She is dressed in a maroon hoodie, and grey sweatpants. Even if she’s dressed to the downs, she still managed to look so effortlessly good. Eli then thinks back at what she’s wearing, and starts to feel the emptiness of a material at her chest area.

SHIT.

She has forgotten to put on a bra. She hides her horror by smiling weakly. 

“Ano, why did you call me here?” She asks a question, so as to prevent Nozomi from having a chance to realise her little wardrobe mishap. 

“Look.” She points to the wooden plague in front of her, and Eli walks closer to have a better look of it. On it said, 

 

_ I wish that the cultural festival will go smoothly, so Elicchi can make her grandmother proud, and I can be the student council vice president alongside her. _

 

After the line is a drawing of two girls, resembling both Nozomi and Eli. Eli smiles bashfully at the wooden plague.

“It’s been a busy day, but I managed to plan out everything, and it will all go by smoothly.” Nozomi speaks up,and Eli looks from the plague to Nozomi, who is closing her eyes, and speaking calmly. 

Eli watches Nozomi’s eyes open slowly, and a smile reappearing on her face.

“As long as I have Elicchi by my side, we will be able to do this well together.” 

As she takes in Nozomi’s word, Eli’s lips start to quiver, and the stinging sensation of tears brimming her eyes start to form again. However, it is a on positive note this time. She sniffs a little, and quickly wipes the tears to prevent them from escaping right in front of Nozomi.

“Mou….” Nozomi drawls out.

“Does Elicchi not want to be my companion?” Nozomi teases softly. She knows that it isn’t true, but its all part in her nature to tease the blonde every now and then.

“I do!!” Eli says, a little loudly, and as soon as she realises she raises her voice, she shuts her mouth and lowers her head.

“I’m sorry by the way.. Nozomi.” Eli says quietly, afraid to look back at her. 

“I’m sorry too.” She hears the voice from in front her and looks up, once again peering into Nozomi’s soft gaze.

“No.” Eli shakes her head.

“You shouldn’t have to be sorry. I was only thinking of myself, and I let it get to me and I left you alone.” 

“Why were you thinking about yourself?” Nozomi questions.

“I…”

This is it. This is her time to tell Nozomi why she’s been so distanced amidst all the discussions today. She never breaks her gaze from her, and takes in a huge breath. Her fingers fiddle nervously and interlaces them tight to keep from fidgeting. 

“My mom gave me a pair of movie tickets to an anime movie for free. I thought that I could maybe….” She watches as Nozomi listens attentively, and takes in another breath before continuing,

“You might want to watch it with me.”

She did it. She finally said it.

There is a long pause hovering between both of them before Nozomi finally clasps her hands to her mouth, and giggles into it. 

“Mou, what are you laughing at?” Eli asks, feeling the heat rush up to her cheeks.

“Silly Elicchi….” 

She takes one step closer to Eli, and can feel her hot, warm breath close to her.

“If you wanted to watch a movie, you could have just asked me earlier! You don’t have to say yes to everything I do you know…” Nozomi’s hands then goes up to Eli’s ponytail, and twirls it around, admiring the sight of the shy blonde. 

“I’m sorry… I’m just so-“ 

Eli’s words are cut off when Nozomi places a finger onto Eli’s lips. “Shhh. Stop apologising.” 

She feels Eli’s fingers, and her lips quivers nervously. 

“What time is the movie at?” Nozomi asks calmly. 

“Anitome.” Eli manages to utter, although it doesn’t come out exactly right as Nozomi’s finger is still blocking Eli’s mouth from projecting her words clearly.

Realising this, Nozomi quickly withdraws her finger from her lips, grinning sheepishly.

“Anytime. We can enter at any of the movie timings.” 

“Ahhh….” Nozomi breathes out, staring at the night sky that was speckled with stars, and a bright crescent moon. 

“Let’s go now then.” She says casually.

“Ehhhhh?” Eli remarks in shock at her suggestion. 

“Why not? I’m sure there are movies that go all the way till midnight right?” Nozomi winks.

Eli then stares down at her chest, and gulps in anxiousness at her bra-less self. _Why is she so stupid…._

All of a sudden, she sees two hands coming from the sides of her chest, and before she can even react, she feels a huge squeeze on her breasts, making her jump and squeal loudly. 

“NOZOMI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” She yells loudly, hugging her arms to her chest. 

“Mou, mou, don’t worry about it, no one will notice you’re not wearing a bra, you have pretty big boobs.” Nozomi giggles.

Eli blushes hard at that comment, but decides to not let her embarrassment take over.

“Well even if so, you shouldn’t do that in a shrine!” 

“Oh???” Nozomi narrows her glance, her mouth forming into a big ‘O’. 

“But wasn’t Elicchi the one who was being dirty this morning by wanting to open her top for me? 

“I was only going to show you my necklace!” She yells back at her. 

Nozomi continues to let a few giggles escape a mouth. “If you say so.” 

As the laughter dies down, Nozomi then takes two hands to pull the hems of her hoodie.

Eli can only watch, preparing to yell at her again at what she’s going to do next.

Nozomi proceeds to tug at the hem and pull it up, and Eli quickly grabs Nozomi’s hand, stopping her movement. 

“Don’t do it! What are you doing?!!” 

Nozomi looks back at her, confused.

“I was only going to take out my hoodie to let you wear over.” 

“Oh.” Eli answers, relaxing a little.

“Hehe, unlike you, I actually wear something under my top you know.” 

She passes the hoodie to Eli, and she now stands only in her sweatpants and a black singlet. Eli can’t help but to notice the obvious cleavage that is showing from the material, and quickly averts her glance. She pushes the hoodie back to Nozomi. 

“Th-th-thanks Nozomi, but wear it back! I have to go home to take my tickets anyway, so I’ll wear a bra at the same time too.” Eli stutters, still not over the sight of Nozomi’s voluptuous chest.

“Really, Elicchi… You’re not as clever as you are compared to the first day I met you.” Nozomi says with a smirk on her face.

Eli looks at her with a slight angry pout to her face, and Nozomi laughs. 

“But you’re still cute.” 

With that, the two walk back to Eli’s house to get the movie tickets, the obvious hint of attraction lingering between them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There goes the first washi-washi of this fic! This was a long chapter, but I hope you liked it. 
> 
> Also happy new year everyone! ( ´ ▽ ` )b


	8. Chapter 8

8\. I’ve come too far to turn around.

 

“NO!! Only the original Nico can do the Nico-Nico-Nii pose!” The short girl bellows next to the taller, yet younger girl on stage, who then stops copying Nico’s signature idol-like gesture. 

Honoka looks to Nico with a slight pout to her face. “Why do you get a signature pose and I do not?” 

Nico crosses her arms and turns her nose up at the orange-haired girl, with her eyes closed in an indignant manner. 

“I made that pose myself. Find your own pose, Honkers.” 

Honoka shows a more distressed expression and Nico’s glower on the face seems to diminish when she sees her partner looking helpless. She opens one eye, and peeks at her junior from the side. She sighs and opens both eyes fully. 

“Fine, I’ll think of a new pose with you, that’s what the amazing idol Nico-Ni is here for.”

Nozomi chuckles at the sight of the first year and second year’s tiny bicker on stage as she and Eli watch the rehearsal from the front one day before the cultural festival. 

“I think they’ll do just fine.” Nozomi says with a grin, as she continues watching the two girls, where Nico is currently guiding Honoka with a new pose.

Eli gives off a relaxed sigh and exhales with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure everything will go fine.”

* * *

“Mou, this is a trap. That is still a creepy game! I thought it was a cute game about cute monsters!” A rather grumpy blonde approaches Nozomi, and she laughs upon seeing her friend throwing a slight tantrum by the way she stomps her foot lightly as she walks over to her. After watching the idol performance rehearsal, Nozomi and Eli move on to conduct a test trial on the haunted house their class have organised with the first years.

As promised, Nozomi manages to set up the classroom for the haunted house in such a way that it incorporates everyone’s suggestions fairly. There is a main haunted house in the classroom, and there will also be a small maid cafe at the end of the haunted house trail, where Kotori is in charge of. She also sets aside a space for a gaming room, for students who are too afraid to walk the haunted house so that they can play video games instead. However, what they don’t realise is that the games in the gaming room are still horror games as well, which Eli clearly isn’t a fan of. 

Eli huffs, her pout an extreme one as she looks to Nozomi with crossed eyebrows. 

Nozomi simply giggles, and lifts up a finger to poke the angry blonde in the cheek, and it makes her huff in annoyance more.

“Mou, mou, I think Elicchi looks scarier than a horror game.” 

Eli groans and swats Nozomi’s finger away, though not too angrily because a part of her still likes Nozomi’s teasing.

“The red monster just jumped up in front of my face you know…” Eli’s voice trails off, lowering her head in embarrassment as she recounts the jump scare moment that happened just now while she was trying out the game.

The expression that Eli has on her face now is priceless, and she looks just like her younger sister with so much innocence displayed on her face while talking about her fright encounter while playing the horror game. Nozomi squeals internally at the sight of the girl bestowed upon her but decides to just play if off cooly by teasing the girl. 

“Come on, a haunted house is a haunted house, if someone is scared to walk it the least they could do is to play a haunted game right!” Nozomi winks. 

“Whoever that thought a haunted house would be a good idea….” Eli drawls out in a defeated manner.

“Apparently everyone.” Nozomi gives a sly grin and proceeds to tug at the taller girl’s sleeve, pointing to the area on the right, where the entrance of the haunted house is. 

“We still have to walk through the haunted house you know, it’s part of our student council job.” 

Eli’s eyes widen in horror, as she takes a huge gulp. 

“No!!” She protests, but the purple-haired girl continues to pull on her sleeves. 

“Don’t worry Elicchi, they’re going to keep the lights on!” 

Eli gives a doubting glance. “You’re going to trick me again.” 

Nozomi shakes her head, the grin still plastered on her face. “I won’t. We have to keep the lights on to see the overall set up anyway.”

Eli finds that believable, and honestly Nozomi really didn’t have any intention to scare the poor blonde anymore, at least for today, so they go off to the entrance of the haunted house. 

* * *

The entrance of the classroom, which is now the entrance of the haunted house, is so intricately decorated by the first years, with the necessary props to make it look hauntingly presentable enough. There is an echo of an instrumental of a creepy music from inside the house, and a chill runs down Eli’s spine.

Knowing the girl beside Nozomi is terrified, she quickly draws upon the sheets that line the entrance, and presents the walkway that is already brightly lit. 

“See? I told you the lights would be on. Let’s go!” 

15 times Eli has found herself clinging on to Nozomi’s arms while letting out small shrieks as they walk past the haunted house. 1 time she has hugged Nozomi’s waist. And that is now.

“Mou, Elicchi! It’s so bright, and those girls scaring you don’t even look that frightening, I mean look-“ 

Nozomi points to a scarer in a torn up witch costume and bloody makeup. 

“She just looks like a witch who had old clothes and a bad makeup day!” 

Eli continues to shut her eyes as she holds on to Nozomi’s waist tightly. Frankly, even though Nozomi thought it is so ridiculous that Eli could be such scaredy-cat, she could let her walk this room with her several times just to feel the endearing warmth from her arms snaking around her waist. At the same time, she finds herself sucking in her stomach to prevent the anxiety from this intimate action from curling into her stomach.

They walk in to the next part of the room, and it is much emptier, with the exception of a huge blue and red box along the side of the walls close to the ceiling. Before both girls can comprehend what or who is going to pop up to scare them, an arrow flings above them, hitting the button to trigger the box that comes to be a jack-in-the box. This time, it isn’t Eli alone who is frightened. A loud yelp escapes the purple-haired’s mouth, and she begins to clutch onto Eli, but since Eli is also holding on to Nozomi for dear life, they both knock their heads on each other as they lean in to each other.

“Ah, sorry!” Nozomi exclaims in flustered shock.

“Sorry, too!” Eli chokes back in fear. 

“Was that really scary?” A voice echoes from behind the two of them. 

Both girls turn behind to see Umi surfacing from one of the raised platforms along the side of the walls, opposite the jack-in-the box. 

Nozomi inspects the blue-haired first year, and her glance moves to the bow and arrow in her hand. Ah, that’s right. This is Umi’s station whereby she would shoot her arrow to activate the jack-in-the box as part of the scare. 

She gives off an apologetic look, and brushes her fingers across one of her twin tails nervously. 

“I guess if even I got scared it means it’s really effective.” 

Eli, still clutching on to Nozomi, nods anxiously. 

“Y-y-yeah, it was frightening indeed.” She stutters, her face still aghast from the scare earlier on. 

Gaining back her composure and feeling the fear subside, Nozomi pokes Eli’s cheeks which seem to be heated from the continuous fear.

“Mou, Elicchi, you’re so weak hehe.” 

Eli widens her eyes and quickly crosses her arms together, looking away from Nozomi.

“N-no I’m not! I just don’t like being scared unnecessarily!” 

Nozomi continues to giggle, and Umi looks back at her two senpais, feeling slightly awkward among this whole banter between them. She plays with the string on her bow as she stands on her position on the raised platform above them.

“Ah—" Nozomi looks up to the blue-haired archer. 

“Umi-chan, thank you for being so cooperative throughout all these, and your archery skills are really good!” She compliments with a wide smile and a wink. 

“Yeah, I mean I’m not a fan of these but I’m sure it will be the best scare the other studentswill experience tomorrow.” Eli adds on. 

A hint of blush creeps up on Umi’s face as she hears the compliments from the two senpais. 

“Thank you, I’ll do my best tomorrow.” Umi speaks politely with a light smile.

“Mou, Umi-chan, there’s no need to be formal around us… I mean you already seen the both of us being frightened in such an unclassy manner.” Nozomi drawls out, giving a small pout to the blue-haired’s direction. 

Umi recalls the reactions of the two girls, and begins to chuckle a little, covering her mouth as she did so. 

“You two knocked your heads on each other.” Umi states, which triggers another narrowing glance from the blonde to the purple-haired girl.

“Hey, give me a chance to be scared once in a while!” Nozomi huffs.

Eli simply rolls her eyes playfully, to which it makes Nozomi groan more. 

Despite the humour of the situation, Umi can’t help but to observe how their glances towards each other seem to border on a more-than-just friends basis, and a part of her can’t help but to be reminded of Kotori. Kotori’s gentle gaze, her warm and radiant smile, and how she’s always glowing of passion whenever she watches her work in the maid cafe.

* * *

“It’s really nice you know.” Eli speaks up, propping her elbow on her table with her head resting on her knuckles as she sits facing Nozomi, while Nozomi does her work on her macbook in the student council room.

“Hm?” Nozomi looks up from her macbook to meet a pair of blue eyes. 

“It’s nice to see someone who is actually doing more work than me.” 

Nozomi frowns a little. “Are you teasing me or is that supposed to be a good thing?”

“It’s a good thing. So, thank you Nozomi.” Eli smiles shyly. 

A sly grin appears on Nozomi’s face as she quickly opens the Photo Booth function on her macbook, and quickly snaps a photo of Eli while she is showing off her shy smile. Eli has been staring at Nozomi so much, that she hasn’t noticed a picture of her has been taken only until she hears the “click” sound. 

“W-what are you doing!” She exclaims as she looks at the photo in shock. There she is, eyes on Nozomi with an admiring gaze and the other girl posing with a smug smile. She lowers her head, slightly embarrassed at the way she isn’t being subtle on her physical attraction to Nozomi.

“Come on!” Nozomi ignores the blonde’s question, and presses the snapshot button, triggering a 3,2,1 countdown to snap a photo. She quickly poses with one eye closed and a tongue stuck out, her finger pointing to the blonde beside her.

“What am I supposed to- AH” 

Before Eli can finish, the “click” sound to signify that a photo has been taken takes her aback, and the photo shows Nozomi’s pose clearly, but Eli’s is blur, her face displaying an obvious amount of confusion.

“Delete that! It’s ugly!” Eli beseeches in exasperation.

“Mou, have you not used Photo Booth before?” Nozomi questions amusingly.

“No, I haven’t.” Eli answers sheepishly, her face flushing. 

“You just pose and hold still, it’s that easy, silly Elicchi.” 

Nozomi then slides her fingers across the trackpad of her macbook, and lingers on the button to activate the picture.

“You have to get it right this time!” Nozomi exclaims, quickly posing with a peace sign and a wide grin. 

Eli copies the movement, and the photo finally comes out right this time, Eli’s face much clearer than before. She smiles to herself shyly seeing the first photo she has with her crush, and as if things couldn’t go any better, Nozomi initiates another shot, and Eli finally gets the hang of posing in front of the camera on the laptop.

Just when she thought that they have finished their little photo taking session, Eli feels arms go around her and her shoulders which bears the new weight now tenses up when she realises: Nozomi has placed an arm around her shoulder. Sure, they have hugged once, but this action; it feels kind of new, like a new kind of intimacy that makes her euphoric, but mostly full of panic. 

“I’m starting!” Nozomi pipes up, making the blonde come back to her senses. 

Eli quickly clears her throat, and tries to smile like how she used to the past few times, although the girl on her left is making it hard to with the way they are so close to each other.

The shot goes off once more, and they review the picture - Nozomi gives a slightly more cheeky grin, as she confidently has her arm around Eli. Meanwhile, the poor student council president looks more timid, even though she is smiling. Nozomi giggles as releases her grip from Eli and starts to close her macbook. However, her movement comes to an abrupt stop when she hears a notification sound from her laptop. She opens it again, and sees that it is a Skype notification. 

“Ara, my mother is calling me..” 

Eli’s eyes enlarge, darting from the screen to Nozomi repeatedly. 

“Should I hide somewhere?” She asks, concerned. 

Nozomi gives a relaxed smile. “It’s fine. It won’t be for long.” 

Nozomi takes a deep breath, and answers the Skype call. Soon, she sees the pixelated view of a brown-haired woman on the screen. After a while, the view starts to become clearer and starts to speak up.

“Hi, mama!” Nozomi greets the older woman.

“Hi, Non-chan! And who do we have here?” 

“Ah- Pardon me.” Eli says apologetically for not introducing herself.

“I am Ayase Eli, Nozomi’s friend.” 

Nozomi’s mother smiles warmly, the slight wrinkles on her face crumpling as she does so. Even though Nozomi and her mother don’t bare a striking resemblance unlike most parents and their child, it is easy to tell that she is her mom’s daughter from their similar droopy doll eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Ayase-san.” Nozomi’s mother greets back, and Eli nods her head politely.

“Ah, look at the view-“ Her mother moves her device around, showing a view of the sky from possibly the deck of the cruise ship she was working on. 

“It’s nice.” Nozomi briefly comments. Her mind isn’t really on the view though. It’s the fact that her mother made such a sudden call to her that she is wary about.

“Ah, it’s a nice change of environment here and—“

“Where are you going after this?” Nozomi interrupts with a straight face. 

“Ah—"

“Which country are you being invited to cook at after this cruise deal is done?” Nozomi replies, more indignantly this time. 

Noticing Nozomi’s constant interruption, Eli nudges the purple-haired with a slightly crossed look on her face, her mouth mouthing “stop”.

Nozomi tilts her head slightly, and nods to let Eli know it is alright. 

“Non-chan.” Nozomi address her daughter in an calm, endearing tone. 

“We haven’t been invited to anywhere else to cook yet. Besides, we will reject it either way, because we told you that we will come home after this job is done.” 

As the two of them communicate, Eli can only look on, trying to sustain a smile on her face in front of Nozomi’s mother. 

“Then there definitely is something else. You wouldn’t call me otherwise.” Nozomi replies harshly. 

Nozomi’s mother opens her mouth on the screen, and closes it again, taken aback from the unexpected denunciation from her daughter. 

“Nozomi, that’s really rude!” This time, Eli’s voice is audible rather than just mouthing he words to Nozomi.

Nozomi stretches her hand from under the table, and rests them on Eli’s thigh, causing the blonde to shiver and be momentarily stunned, unable to speak up any further.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere else to cook, but we might need to extend our contract with the cruise line. It could go to a year.”

And those are the words that Nozomi has been pressing to hear, even though they are words that she has always been accustomed to.

“Non-chan, I’m sorry. We’re really trying our best but we cannot reject this extension. They are paying double for this, and they are asking a media crew to get on board to film our cooking too. It would be great exposure!” The older woman tries to persuade, but this does not seem to appeal to her daughter, who retains her cold expression. 

Although Eli finds it unbearable and awkward seeing this conversation while her face is literally on the screen as well, she needs to do something. It hurts just to see the jovial, teasing Nozomi look so vulnerable and hurt. 

“Ano.” Eli starts to speak up, allowing the woman on the screen to shift her attention to her.

“I understand you’re a hard worker and wants to make a name with your talents, but maybe..” She swallows her saliva, and prepares herself for what she is about to say next, hoping it wouldn’t offend the woman. 

“There are more important things than that. Important, priceless things in fact. And Nozomi is one of them.” 

Nozomi makes a 90 degree turn to the blonde sitting on her right, completely startled by what she said.

“She’s your daughter, you know. How do you think she feels each time she’s in a new environment because of you? Have you ever considered her feelings?” Eli continues to speak with every outlet of passion in her.

Nozomi lowers her head, her lips trembling as she feels her eyes starting to brim with tears. She doesn’t let them flow down however, and as a result, blurs her vision. 

After taking another breath from that confrontation, Eli starts to notice what is going on. Nozomi’s mother is speechless, and the girl on her side is absolutely upset. At the moment, she feels extremely apologetic and wishes she could take back everything she said. 

“Nozomi…” Eli exhales, her hands snaking up to the purple-haired’s back, caressing her back gently. 

“She’s right.” Nozomi then speaks up, causing Eli to stop her movement. 

“Elicchi’s right.” She reaffirms her statement, looking back at her own mother. 

“Because of you and Papa, I never got to really be happy. Even if I was, it would just be temporary as you would just whisk me to another place and the cycle just repeats.” 

“And now I’m happy again.” Nozomi turns to Eli with a weak smile. 

“I am happy because I met Elicchi, and I like this school and the people here.” 

She takes a deep breath and exhales. 

“I’m happy because they would never leave me alone.” 

A single tear finally succumbs to being held in and rolls down Nozomi’s cheek. 

There is a moment of silence between all three ladies, each of them having a separate set of emotion. 

“Non-chan.” Nozomi’s mother’s voice breaks the silence. 

The two girls look back at the older woman on the laptop screen, a guilty look marked on her face. 

“I’m sorry, we have been too selfish. We always assumed that now that you’re a big girl, you would be fine on your own.” 

“Would you like me to call a relative to come stay with you? Or-“

“Mama, it’s fine.” Nozomi returns to her usual speaking voice, slightly calmer than before. 

“I’m fine living on my own. I’d rather do that than having to leave this place.” She assures her mother. 

“Are you sure?” Her mother asks to confirm, and Nozomi nods her head confidently. 

“Oto-san and I care about you a lot, you’re our only daughter and although we haven’t been the greatest parents, we still love you a lot.”

Nozomi can only nod again, feeling the tears stinging her eyes. 

“If there’s anything you need, please call me.” Her mother says again.

This could probably be a moment where the Skype call would end, so Eli quickly jumps in to address for her manners earlier on. 

“Ano, I’m really sorry about my outburst just now.” Eli lowers her head in embarrassment. 

She sees the brown-haired woman smiling warmly however. 

“Ayase-san, right?” She asks, raising her brows for confirmation. 

“Hai.” Eli responds politely. 

“Thank you for being such a good friend towards my daughter.” She says tenderly. 

Eli widens her eyes in surprise at the older woman’s words. She most certainly didn’t expect her to be thanking Eli.

“I have to go now, my break is up. I’ll see you soon, Non-chan.” 

“Wait-“ Nozomi speaks up.

She gives a shy smile, one that Eli isn’t used to seeing on the purple-haired girl.

“Send me a copy of the footage after the film crew has filmed you and dad cooking.” 

The older woman starts to laugh, and much to Eli’s shock, does a wink at her daughter. That is where she starts to find another similarity between the mother and daughter - they have the same kind of convincing wink. 

“Will do, Non-chan. I love you.”

With that, the Skype call ended and Nozomi closes her macbook completely. She sighs, still feeling the tears in both of her eyes. 

Without much thought, she collapses into the blonde beside her, embracing her tightly and letting the rivulet of tears flow out. 

At first, Eli doesn’t know how to react when Nozomi suddenly flung into her arms, but as soon as she hears Nozomi’s sniffles become louder, and the wetness pooling into the material of her uniform, she immediately wraps the girl in her arms tightly, occasionally rubbing her shivering back.

* * *

 “Are you better now?” Eli asks, as Nozomi blows for the last time into her tissue.

Nozomi smiles, more cheerfully and genuine this time, although her eyes are still puffy from the crying. “Yeah, I am fine. Thank you, Elicchi.” 

Eli looks at her watch, with it stating “5.25PM.” She looks at Nozomi, and her eyes light up as an idea comes to her mind. 

“Say Nozomi, do you want to have dinner together? Like a pre-celebration dinner before the cultural festival tomorrow.” 

Nozomi’s puffy eyes widen in eagerness, and Eli just wants to drink in the adoring sight of her at the moment. 

“Where shall we go?” Nozomi asks excitedly. 

“I was thinking of going to have dinner at your house.” 

Nozomi looks back at her questioningly, wondering what’s with the location she proposed. 

“We’ll buy the ingredients and we’ll cook for ourselves!” Eli adds on, convincing the purple-haired girl.

Nozomi stirs for a while, giving a thoughtful look. Soon enough, she returns with a rather smug smile.

“Why don’t we cook the same dish for each other?” Nozomi suggests with a raise of her brow. 

Eli gulps, sucking in a shaky breath. This is not what she meant, she wanted the both of them to cook together. Having Eli to cook alone is just a huge mess waiting to happen. All Eli can do is to hide her anxiety and curl her lips to show an assuring smile.

“Sure, I think that will be interesting!” She responds cheerfully, but inside she is exploding with a thousand different kind of Russian profanities.

* * *

 The two girls lay out the groceries in front of them on top of the Nozomi’s bar counter in her house. 

“Hai, so we have our udon noodles, yakiniku hehe, fishcake, dashi powder, soy sauce and…”

She looks closer at the packaging, and reads the content slowly.

“Instant.. Udon Soup.. Mix?” Nozomi turns her head slowly in a dramatic manner to an embarrassed blonde, with a frown on her face. 

“Really, Elicchi?” An instant mix?” Nozomi asks, half baffled and half amused. 

Eli fumbles with her fingers as her eyes shift around nervously. 

“Mou..” Nozomi cozies up to Eli, and tiptoes a little to rest on her shoulder perfectly. 

“Don’t tell me… Elicchi can’t cook?” She fakes an astounded look, causing the blonde to feel even more embarrassed. 

“Hey, that’s not fair, Nozomi.. I mean, you probably can cook well since your parents are professional chefs. And I’m just…” 

“Just a pretty blondie who is good at everything except cooking?” Nozomi teases.

“Hey, I can try you know!” Eli stands up straighter, and this sudden action throws the purple-haired’s jaw off her shoulders. 

“Oh, oh my god. I’m so sorry Nozomi.” Eli raises her hands to apologise. 

However, Nozomi doesn’t seem to be wincing in pain and is instead, looking at her with her head tilted up confidently. 

“Ooooooh Eli is all charged up! Then let’s go cook! It’s a competition so you better be trying more than just your best!” Nozomi races to pick up the ingredients in her hands, and places them on the kitchen table behind her.

Eli is left staring at the remaining half of the ingredients, while alternating her glance to the instant udon mix, contemplating her life decisions.

* * *

The smell of Nozomi’s favourite Yakiniku, along with the sizzling sound it makes fill up the room, and this excites the purple-haired as she cooks it happily. Meanwhile, Eli constantly peeks over to Nozomi’s stove area, comparing her beef with Nozomi’s to see if hers is already cooked. When Nozomi realises Eli is staring, she quickly whips her head back to her own cooking. 

_The beef is still not quite brown yet… Maybe I should cook it more… Eli thinks, as she pokes her chopstick into the beef, observing its tenderness._

After Nozomi scoops up the pieces of Yakiniku and deposits them into a plate, she smells something odd - something… Burnt. She looks at her own beef, she has made sure it is cooked finely. Only maybe… She turns her head to the blonde beside her, and a sly grin overcomes her face as she peeks at the blonde’s frying pan. 

“Tch, tch. Elicchi burnt her Yakiniku.” Nozomi playfully says, undisturbed by the rather charred look of the beef. 

“What?” Eli gapes in horror, poking through her beef frantically. 

“Do you not smell it?” Nozomi asks, amused by the blonde’s dense-ness in cooking. 

“I.. I thought it was a good kind of smell.” Eli stutters, her lips trembling in a crooked, insecure smile. 

Nozomi chuckles at the blonde’s reaction, and tucks a strand of hair behind Eli’s ear. 

“It’s okay, it’s only the beef. Maybe you can make up for the competition with your udon and the other ingredients?” Nozomi suggests calmly, and proceeds to return to her cooking. 

Eli looks at the instant udon mix, and picks it up with shaking hands.

“Mou, mou, giving up so fast?” The purple-haired’s words makes Eli drop the packaging back on the table, and looks at her guiltily.

* * *

“Alright, here we go!” Nozomi announces as she and Eli puts down their respective udon bowls beside each other at the same time. 

“Elicchi’s udon looks good…..” Nozomi comments as her eyes glaze over to Eli’s bowl. But she knows the reason for it to look so decent is because Eli has resorted to using the udon mix, even if Eli hasn’t admitted to it yet. 

Eli lowers her head, pink colouring her cheeks. “I’m sorry… I used the mix..” 

“Did you really use it?” Nozomi continues feigning ignorance, as she takes a spoon and delves into the bowl, and tests the soup. And of course, she can taste the seasoning from the pre-made stock. 

“The soup is nice though.” Nozomi adds on. She then curls her lips to the side, and inches closer to Eli.

“Could it be, Elicchi secretly doesn’t want to show she is a good cook, but she can actually cook really well?” 

“Nozomi…. I told you, I used the mix. I cheated.” Eli utters.

Nozomi lets out a soft giggle. “I know you used the mix. But I think you’re still the winner of this competition.” 

Eli’s blue eyes widen, her mouth hanging open. “W-w-why?” 

“Because I give you a lot of spontaneity points!” Nozomi answers swiftly. 

“There’s such a thing?” Eli replies, beetling her forehead. 

“Well…” Nozomi trails her fingertips across the table.

“You suggested to come over, you suggested to cook our own dinner, and even though your side of the food didn’t turn out so well, at least we’re still having it together. And also…” 

Nozomi looks at the dining table and the two chairs, recalling the same sight she seen when she first moved in few weeks ago. 

“I am so happy that the two chairs around my dining table are filled up.” Nozomi speaks fondly, a gentle smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

Eli’s facial features relaxes, as she gazes into gleaming turquoise eyes. It is hard to think that just few hours ago, Nozomi was huddled in her arms, sobbing pitifully.

* * *

“I’ll wash the dishes, and I don’t care if you said I’m the guest, I’ll do it.” Eli hastily takes up the finished bowls, and goes over to the kitchen sink to wash the dishes. 

It is 7.30PM by the time both girls finish their dinner and needless to say, Nozomi enjoyed every minute of it, despite it only being a simple dinner. As she looks over to the blonde as she stands in front of the kitchen sink, she takes in the side profile of her - her wavy blonde ponytail that she favours only emphasises the lovely contours of her face - her piercing jawline, high cheekbones, and the soft arch of her brows. They are features that resemble a beautiful, yet fierce person. But Eli isn’t that. She’s beguiling and kind, and sure, maybe silly at times too, but most importantly she realises that while the prospect of having feelings for the same sex is still a sacred thing in Japan, there is no denying of the warm and fluttery feeling she feels inside whenever she looks at Eli.

* * *

“I don’t want to gooooo, I don’t want to goo noooooo!” A bespectacled girl who looks like a first year whines as she clings on to her taller friend’s arm at the entrance of the haunted house at the cultural festival. 

Nozomi and Eli look on, giggling at the sight. They are on duty to be in charge of the crowd control at the entrance of the haunted house outside their class. The haunted house is actually receiving quite a huge number of responses, with many students queuing outside.

Nozomi leans in to the panic-stricken girl, who seems to be very reluctant to enter the haunted house. She gives a smug smile, and raises both her hands, curling them slightly in a grabbing motion.

“If you don’t want to go in, I’m gonna make you experience something even scarier!” She says in a menacing tone.

“Wh-wh-what are you going to do?” The girl stutters uncontrollably. 

Nozomi smirks and puts her hand close to Eli’s chest, but before she can do anything, Eli quickly swipes her hands away in a flustered manner. She knows that Nozomi was going to grab her breasts, right in front of her juniors.

“G-G-Go in!!! Just go!” Eli yelps out, pointing to the direction of the haunted house. 

The terrified girl finally complies, afraid to refuse the Student Council President. With that, her friend finally manages to drag her inside. 

“Hey, that was some good banter we did there, Elicchi!” Nozomi winks at the blonde-haired girl, who is still recovering from her shock from almost being groped. 

Nozomi leans on Eli, her head slowly dropping down to her chest. “It would have been better if you would have let me go all the way with it though.” 

Eli’s eyes and mouth widen in shock, and she quickly shakes Nozomi away from her.

“Stop it, Nozomi! There’s still people!” She hisses, while tilting her head to face the next group of girls who are waiting in line to enter the haunted house. They don’t seem disturbed by the action though, and are more focused on the conversation within themselves. 

“Ah—" Nozomi pipes up as she sits back in her seat. 

“I think that group is going to take a while, would you like me to do a reading for you girls while waiting?”

The girls break away from their chatter and looks at Nozomi in amazement, as they proceed to huddle around her and Eli. 

“Ah, I want to know if my next boyfriend is going to be my husband too in future!” One of the girl exclaims excitedly. 

Eli can’t help but to cringe when she hears that. But a part of her also wonders if Nozomi was going to be her first girlfriend, who is going to be her wife too in future. She gulps, and cringes at her own thought. Girlfriend, for goodness sake?!! They aren’t even dating, and Eli wasn’t even sure if she was…. Well, a lesbian. She had feelings for Nozomi, that’s for sure, but what goes beyond that….. She’s still completely and utterly clueless. 

Nozomi starts to spread out the tarot cards on her table, cutting the decks into three parts. Eli hasn’t seen this for a long time, and the one and only time she seen Nozomi with her cards was during their visit to the maid cafe. 

_ Nozomi takes out the last card but instead of showing the card to Eli in style, she hesitates a little as she places the card slowly. This card has thrown her off her game. _

_“The Lovers…” She mutters under her breath._

_“The Lovers?” Eli repeats it so as to prod Nozomi to explain further._

_“I.. I…” Nozomi stutters._

_“Is it another bad card?” Eli questions with genuine curiosity._

_Nozomi shakes her head profusely. “No, no it’s not…”_

_“It’s just that I picked that card for myself yesterday too.”_

_“Oh, does this mean we are meant to be lovers?” Eli says without much thought._

_That’s right…_ Eli thinks. And since that time, Nozomi still hasn’t explained much about the lovers card that Eli drew last time. 

“Hai, we’re here to take over for our shift now!” Two of Nozomi and Eli’s classmates says as they walk over to them.

Nozomi looks at the schedule in front of her, and nods her head.

“Alright, let’s go!” Nozomi confirms, standing up from her seat and Eli follows.

“Shall we enjoy the cultural festival for ourselves now?” Eli asks, with a light smile.

“I want to go to class 1B’s ring toss booth! I heard they have Totoro soft toys there!” Nozomi fist pumps the air, as she leads the way to where she wants to go.

* * *

A group of girls erupt into a crowd of cheers when their representative finally tosses the ring into the glass bottle, earning her a medium-sized totoro soft toy. Nozomi looks on in awe, clasping her hands together at her favourite soft toy. 

“You like Totoro don’t you?” Eli asks, recalling the totoro-stylized notepad Nozomi has. 

“Yeah! It’s my favourite cartoon character!” Nozomi squeals, and Eli can’t help but to fangirl internally at the adorable display of her crush. 

“Seto-kaicho? Fuku kaicho?” One of the first year who is manning the ring toss booth walks up to them, greeting politely. 

“Mou, mou.” Nozomi blushes. “I’m not the student council vice president yet.” 

“Ano, but this event is going so well, you have my support!” She answers meekly. 

Eli pats the purple-haired on her back, tilting her head with a smile. “See, you’ve done a great job, Nozomi.”

“Mou….” Nozomi drawls out rather shyly.

“Ano, do you want a free ring toss game?” The first year holds up her basket of rings in front of the two girls.

The images of Nozomi squealing over the soft toy flashes in Eli’s mind and she quickly extends one hand in front of the girl to receive the basket from her. Her other hand reaches into the pocket of skirt to take out 100 yen, pressing it into the girl’s palm.

“I want to play it. But I’m going to pay for it too okay? Do not treat us any differently.” Eli says. 

The girl nods her head, and makes space for Eli to toss her 3 given rings. 

“Yay, go Elicchi!” Nozomi cheers beside her. 

Nozomi’s supposed encouragement only makes Eli more tense, and pressed to win the soft toy just for her. She looks at the opposite side of the booth, where another student has won the soft toy, and she grits her teeth as she takes out the first ring. She aims it at the bottle in the middle, and pulls her hand back, readying herself for the toss.

It takes 4 seconds for her to finally release her grip on the ring and toss it to her aim. It hovers over the mouth of the glass bottle, instilling some sense of hope in Eli. However, it slides down, and past the mouth, failing to hoop around it.

Eli sighs in despair, as she grabs hold of the next ring.

“It’s okay, you have two more tries!” Nozomi exclaims positively. 

Taking in a deep breath, Eli flings the next ring into the same position, and unfortunately it gets worse this time, as it just flies past the bottle.

Eli lets out a disappointed groan, as she pick up her last and final ring. 

“It’s really okay.” Nozomi says sweetly. And honestly, it really was okay. It already means so much to the purple-haired girl that the blonde who wouldn’t take any interest in carnival games would be so initiative and participate. 

Another group of girls win the prize this time, and Eli starts to feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She may disappoint her grandmother, but she has no room to disappoint Nozomi this time.

She closes one eye, and focuses on the same mouth of the glass bottle, steadying her hands. She takes in another breath, and as she exhales, she releases the ring from her grip.

Watching the last ring fly should have a legendary, slow motion effect to it, but it doesn’t seem so as the ring simply goes past the aim, once again.

“ZACHEM?! [WHY?!]” Eli yells in Russian in distress as she slouches over the playing area, attracting the attention of the other students who are around the booth.

“Elicchi….” Nozomi pats the blonde in an attempt to comfort her.

“It was a good try! And honestly, seeing you play for me is already a reward! I don’t need a Totoro toy!” Nozomi continues to comfort the blonde. 

“I’m so disappointing aren’t I…” Eli utters in exasperation. 

Nozomi chuckles, taking a bunch of hair from the blonde’s ponytail and twirling them in her fingers, something she likes doing to Eli. 

“Silly Elicchi, it’s not disappointing at all.”

Nozomi’s glance then shifts to the cardboard banner 2 classes down, and it is another first year class who set up a cosplay booth. A sly grin overcomes her face as she leans close to Eli’s ear.

“You can still get me a Totoro.” 

Eli looks back, still slightly distressed. “What? How?”

“You can cosplay as Totoro there, and then I can already have my own life-sized Totoro!” Nozomi blurts out, only to gain a cross look from the blonde.

“Nozomi, I’m not doing that.”

* * *

After going through some other booths involving some snack stands, some themed classroom cafes, and even more game booths that Eli has vowed to never play again, Nozomi and Eli finds themselves back at their own classroom’s haunted house.

Nozomi pokes gently at Eli’s ribs, startling her a little.

“Hey, since you already know what’s going to come up inside with the lights on, it should be fine in the dark right?” 

Eli could not move a single muscle - the thought of having to be in the dark, with scary things coming up at random paralyses her.

“No-no-no- Nozomi, I can’t do it. I’m scared of the dark.” Eli confesses in a cowardly whisper.

Nozomi pouts lightly, tugging on to the student council president’s sleeves. 

“You can hold on to me the whole time, I’ll protect you!” Nozomi answers with an air of confidence. 

“Yeah, you two should go in and experience it for yourselves!” Another encouragement came from their classmates who are currently on their shift to take charge of the entrance of the haunted house. 

Eli’s eyes fall on the curtain hanging over the door to the inside of the haunted house, lips trembling tremendously. _But if this means being extra close to Nozomi, that isn’t that bad of a thing too right?_ Eli considers. 

Eli exhales loudly, and links her arm with Nozomi’s, another of her arm wrapping against her waist for extra security. 

“Fine, let’s get this over and done with.” Eli complies eventually. 

The two walk in, and the complete darkness baffles Eli, who soon buries her head in Nozomi’s chest, walking stealthily with her. 

For every jumpscare that surfaces, Nozomi can feel an extra tug at her chest, and her heart beats wildly from the intimate choice of placement of Eli’s head. She continues walking, as heat starts to gather between the two girls from being exceptionally close with each other.

“Mou, ar-ar-are we done yet?” Eli stutters in a muffled voice, still burying her head in Nozomi’s chest.

Nozomi giggles as she pats Eli’s head.

“We’re not, but we’re in an empty room now, and it looks pretty chill.” Nozomi responds. 

Eli slowly moves her head out in a cautious manner to inspect the surroundings, and Nozomi is right. There doesn’t seem to be any areas where the scarers would pop up. Eli is sure this room is meant for something, but she doesn’t quite remember it.

“Do you remember what’s going to happen here?” Eli asks softly. 

Nozomi shakes her head. “I forgot too. I just know that no one is going to come out here.” 

As she speaks, Nozomi feels the shakiness from Eli’s hands. 

“Mou, are you really that scared?” She asks in a amusement. 

Even in the darkness, she can make out Eli’s scorn. 

“I’m not scared Nozomi, I’m terrified!” She hisses back at her as they walk slowly past the room.

“Okay, then why don’t you talk about something else to make you feel less afraid?” Nozomi suggests.

Eli considers the girl’s words, and quickly recalls any dying question she has yet to ask. _That’s right, the tarot cards!_ She recollects. 

“Nozomi, can you tell me about the lovers card again?” Eli asks, her question echoing across the empty room. 

This question stuns Nozomi for a period of time, and she knows why Eli is asking that question. She knows that she hasn’t answered Eli during the time at the maid cafe, and darn, she finally remembers it enough to ask her about it again today.

She takes a breath, and opens her mouth to speak.

“The lovers card means that-“

Before Nozomi can finish her sentence, warm and soft lips plunge into hers, igniting her whole body in shock. Her eyes are wide open as she digests what is happening right now - Eli is kissing her. Eli’s lips are on hers. 

A tense fluttery feeling fills Nozomi’s stomach, while her heart starts to beat rapidly.

She did not expect this to happen - at all. But she does know she has to reciprocate. 

Nozomi’s chest rises with a deep inhale, as she slowly presses her own lips against Eli’s, their lips now brushing against each other’s in sync. The kiss was unexpected, but so is the feeling that Nozomi gets while in her liplock with Eli because Eli is a freaking incredible kisser. Or maybe it’s because she has never kissed anyone before. But Nozomi knows that she doesn’t want this to end so soon. 

As Eli breathes out against Nozomi’s lips, she can feel the warm breath escape her mouth, making Nozomi’s lips quiver. Too soon, Eli slips away, with her eyes still shut. Nozomi stares back at the darkened figure of Eli, too overwhelmed to say anything. 

It takes a few seconds before both girls come back to their senses - Eli starts to get into a panic frenzy by fumbling with her fingers and biting her lips; Nozomi blinking repeatedly, trying to process of that really happened. 

“Uh-we-uh-should, we should mo-o-move on.” Eli stutters uncontrollably. 

Nozomi simply nods, and they walk to the exit of the room, leaving a slight gap in between them this time.

Unbeknownst to them, they weren’t the only ones there as they have presumed. 

A stunned Umi hides in the corner behind her hiding area in the room, her eyes bearing witness to the kiss that has been shared between her two senpais just now.

Of course, Nozomi and Eli seems to have forgotten that this is Umi’s Jack-In-The-Box scare zone, even though they were the most frightened by this room just a day ago. However, it’s not like Umi has taken any action either, as she curls herself up in her hiding area, letting the two have their moment, while she, at the same time, reminds herself of her own feelings towards Kotori.

“Congratulations, you have completed the haunted house!” Kotori greets Nozomi and Eli as they walk out into brightness into the maid cafe portion of the haunted house. 

Both girls remain silent, feeling obviously awkward by the situation just a minute ago. 

“Nozomi-senpai? Are you okay?” Kotori asks in concern, noticing Nozomi’s sudden pale face and lips. 

Eli doesn’t dare to look at the purple-haired girl beside her, but she eventually steals a glance and notices that Nozomi is indeed looking extremely white. 

“Nozomi?” She whispers carefully, cautiously reaching to her arm, and feeling it. When she does so, she feels the intensifying heat of it, and her eyes widen as she quickly brings her hand up to her forehead. She hastily compares it with her own forehead and that’s when she realises - Nozomi has a fever. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

9\. I’m here tonight.

“Hai, can you pass me your keys?” Eli asks softly, keeping a steady grip on Nozomi’s waist as they reach the entrance of Nozomi’s apartment. 

Nozomi smiles weakly, as she reaches into her bag and pulls out her house keys, feebly opening the door. 

“’You didn’t have to send me home. I’m only running a fever from being overworked, it’s nothing serious Elicchi.” 

Eli frowns slightly, as she proceeds to push open the door after Nozomi has unlocked it.

“I couldn’t let you stay at the cultural festival around people when you’re unwell, Nozomi.” Eli replies in deep concern.

Eli continues to lead Nozomi into her bedroom, and instructs her to lay down, to which Nozomi complied to. 

“Get some rest okay?” Eli says, lifting the sheets and placing them over Nozomi. 

“Elicchi…” Nozomi drawls out, beckoning the blonde to come closer. 

“What is it?” Eli kneels beside Nozomi’s bed, leaning in to her.

“What are you going to do while I rest?” Nozomi asks softly.

Eli tilts her head to the side. “I’ll watch you.” 

As soon as Eli says that, her eyes enlarge and she opens and closes her mouth repeatedly, shocked by her response that came out rather creepily. 

“I mean, I mean!”

“I’m going to take care of you, I’ll-I’ll-I’ll cook something for you!” Eli chokes out.

Despite feeling rather weak and exhausted, Nozomi lets out a giggle and raises her hand from under the sheets, placing it on Eli’s red cheeks, caressing them lightly.

“But Elicchi doesn’t even cook well….” She teases.

Eli quickly stands up, and places her hand on her hips in an attempt to look confident. 

“I might have improved! Just you wait, Nozomi!” 

Nozomi continues to giggle, and closes her eyes with a huge smile.

“Well then, I’ll be waiting.” She says sheepishly with her eyes still closed.

Eli gulps at the challenge the sick girl has issued her, and sinks her teeth into her lips. She really needs to stop blurting out impossible stuffs at the most crucial timings…

* * *

Eli stares back at the leftover ingredients from the udon they made yesterday, and made a cursory glance to the instant udon packaging to the side. No.. She isn’t going to depend on an instant mix again, Nozomi is sick, and the last thing she needs to eat is a cheap instant mix. 

At the moment, she feels a beeping sound from her phone and goes over to receive it, realising it is a text from Kotori in the group chat that Eli created so that they can communicate easier for the cultural festival. Those present in the chat are Kotori, Umi, Nozomi and Eli.

Minami Kotori (3.56PM): The cultural festival has just ended. How is Nozomi? (๑◕︵◕๑) Do you want umi-chan and i to come over? 

Sonoda Umi (3.57PM): Yeah, do you need any food? We can bring some food over if you’d like. 

Eli bends over the kitchen counter, as she holds the phone in her hand, contemplating Kotori’s decision. She wants to be alone with Nozomi, but then again, seeing that she is completely and utterly hopeless with cooking, Kotori is probably the best to help her with it. At the same time, Umi can keep Nozomi company while she is cooking.

Ayase Eli (3.58PM): Sure, that would be very nice. I will send you her address in the next text.

* * *

Eli hastens to the door as soon the doorbell rings. She opens it to welcome Kotori and Umi, who are still in their school uniform with grocery bags in their hands. 

“Thanks for coming, do come in!” Eli pipes up, opening the door a bit further to let the two girls in. 

“How is Nozomi-senpai? Is she feeling better?” Umi asks in concern as she takes out her shoes.

“She just had a nap. You can go see her if you would like.” Eli’s features softens as she looks to the direction of Nozomi’s room.

“That Nozomi… She really overworked herself.” 

“Umi-chan and I wanted to get takeout, but I realised it wouldn’t be too healthy for someone who is sick, so I bought ingredients from the grocery store to cook!” Kotori happily holds up the grocery bag in her hand.

“Kotori… That’s really nice of you.” Eli smiles at the younger girl’s thoughtfulness and receives the grocery bag from her to place it on the kitchen counter.

“Shall we go see her?” Eli suggests, to which the two girls nod and follows the blonde into the room. 

Nozomi hears a knock from the door, and sits up higher in her bed, while making sure that the comforter remains covered around her legs.

The door opens and Eli walks in, instantly causing a grin to form on Nozomi’s face despite how weak she felt. She is surprised, however, as she sees another two figures following closely behind.

“Ooh, Kotori and Umi-chan are here too?” 

“Yeah, after all that you done for the festival, it’s only right that we’d be here for you too when you’re sick!” Kotori answers sweetly. 

“Aw, you shouldn’t have. I’m sure Elicchi is perfectly capable of taking care of me herself!” 

“Nozomi!” Eli protests lightly, akin to the slight laughter coming from Kotori, as well as a very bashful Umi.

“Kidding, I appreciate both of you two for coming here too.” Nozomi smiles warmly at her two juniors.

“Alright, Kotori and I will prepare dinner together. Umi-chan will stay here with you.” Eli announces. At the moment, seeing Nozomi huddled under the sheets only makes Eli want to go over and hug her before she goes outside. But seeing that there is still a giant elephant in the room regarding the kiss between them earlier on, coupled with the fact that Kotori and Umi are still in the room, she takes a step closer to the door instead.

“Elicchi is a very bad cook, please take care of her Kotori-chan!” Nozomi teases as the pair walk out the door.

“Mou, Nozomi! Why are you still annoying when you’re sick!” Eli calls out from the distance, and Nozomi giggles to herself as they leave completely, leaving her with the shy blue-haired girl sitting on the chair by the bed in her room now.

“How-"

“Umi-"

Both girls start talking at the same time, and they pause to exchange a shy smile.

“You go first, Umi-chan.” Nozomi pipes up in a pleasant manner.

“H-how are you, Nozomi-senpai?” Umi asks, stuttering lightly.

“I’m fine, just tired and a little feverish. But it’ll go away soon!” 

Umi nods gently, her eyes darting back and forth, a little apprehensive to make eye contact with Nozomi because she still hasn’t quite gotten the sight of Nozomi and Eli kissing in the haunted house out of her head.

“I should be asking how you are doing, Umi-cchi.” Nozomi tilts her head to look at the blue-haired girl.

Umi tenses up a little, upon hearing Nozomi address her the way she addresses Eli with the use of the -cchi behind her name. 

“I-I-I’m fine!” Umi answers, but Nozomi remains unconvinced. 

Nozomi removes her hands from under the sheets, and places them on Umi’s shoulders, startling her more.

“Is there anything bothering Umi-chan?” Nozomi asks, her green eyes deep with concern.

Umi’s chest rises, her eyes dancing to every corner. She licks her lips, and breathes again before opening her mouth to speak. 

“I saw Eli-senpai and you kissing.” Umi confesses in one breath, and she quickly looks down, playing with the ends of her skirt. 

Meanwhile, Nozomi grips her hands onto the edge of her sheets, her mind consumed with thoughts on how Umi managed to see them rather than actually being found out about the intimate moment that happened between the two of them.

Noticing the long silence, Umi quickly buries her head in her hands, shaking her head profusely. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I mean—I’m not judging or anything, it just happened and I was there and—"

Nozomi places a calm hand on Umi’s head, patting it gently, making the flustered blue-haired girl look back at her. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it!” Nozomi speaks cooly. 

“But-but..” 

“I thought we were alone though?” Nozomi asks, trying to recollect how the room they were in was like.

“Nozomi-senpai… That was my archery scare room..” Umi utters slowly.

Nozomi blinks at the blue-haired, slightly dazed. 

“Right…..” Nozomi breathes out.

“Right!” She repeats with a better sense of affirmation this time.

“It was the room that actually scared me during the trial walkthrough. But you didn’t go through with your scare just now because you saw us….” 

Umi nods her head slowly with a crooked, embarrassed smile because she knows what Nozomi meant.

“I’m sorry Umi-chan, it must be very unsettling to see us that way huh? I must tell Elicchi that even though she’s a very smart and disciplined student council president, she needs to be more aware of her surroundings.” Nozomi answers with a cheeky grin. However deep down, she still can’t quite get the feeling of Eli’s sudden initiation of the kiss between them. They haven’t mentioned anything about it too as Eli brought Nozomi to her home. 

“It’s unsettling, but at the same time-" Umi pauses to take a breath, and licks her lips nervously.

“I want that with Kotori too.” 

There is another moment of silence in the room again. However, the silence this time gets cut short with soft whimpers coming from the bluenette. 

“Umi-chan?” Nozomi calls out softly, trying to get Umi to look at her.

Umi continues to lower her head, and a tear falls into her skirt, creating a damp patch.

Nozomi shifts to occupy the rest of her bed, and tugs Umi gently until she finally looks up, her amber eyes brimming with tears. 

Nozomi pats the side of the bed which she has made space for, and motions for Umi to sit on it. 

Umi shakes her head, and the dark patch on her skirt grows more visible. 

Nozomi continues to tug her until Umi finally gets up and sits by her bedside. As soon as she is in place, Nozomi places one arm around the tearful girl’s shoulder, and eventually, another arm to finally wrap her into a comforting hug. 

Nozomi knows from past observations that there might be something between the two, and it is especially significant from Umi with her lingering glances and nervous body language whenever Kotori is around her. She just didn’t expect that Umi was actually so in too deep into it, making her break down like that.

Noticing the heat gathering between them, Nozomi quickly breaks the hug, and gives an embarrassed smile. 

“Oops, I don’t wanna make you sick too.” She says cheekily, even though she knows that a hug isn’t going to pass her sickness around.

“If anyone is getting sick it should be Eli-senpai, her mouth was in contact with yours.” 

Nozomi’s eyes enlarge, her mouth gaped open upon hearing that. 

WERE THOSE WORDS REALLY COMING FROM THE ONE AND ONLY SONODA UMI WHO WAS JUST CRYING OVER HOW GAY SHE WAS A MINUTE AGO AGO?

“Umi-chan…..” Nozomi finally drawls out after recovering from her state of shock.

“That’s a very shameless thing to say!” Nozomi imitates the young Sonoda, and this time, Umi is back to being her shy self as she gets embarrassed. 

“What..” Umi frowns lightly as she wipes away any remaining tears with the back of her hand.

“Tell me more about Kotori-chan.” Nozomi pipes up, changing the subject.

“Ehhhh?!” Umi’s cheeks instantly turn a bright red. 

“Do you like her?” 

“Well..” Umi sighs and sinks her head in defeat.

“I have been in love with Kotori since the start of this year.” 

Umi inhales sharply, looking over at Nozomi for confirmation to go on. When Nozomi nods, she takes another breath before continuing. 

“Honoka, Kotori and I have been best friends since middle school, so I didn’t think much about it last time. We were just three best friends, enjoying each other’s company. But recently, ever since we started at Otonokizaka and when Kotori started working at the maid cafe, I kind of saw her in a different light. She’s always so cute-“ 

As soon as ‘cute’ comes out from Umi’s mouth, Nozomi notices how her smile grows wider, along with amber eyes that only seemed to glisten now and it’s apparent that she’s definitely gushing about her.

“and very kind, but this time, there is also a certain level of maturity to her that I found extremely attractive. Especially when she works at the maid cafe. I love going there, even though I’m embarrassed about it. But I love seeing how she works, it’s like she owns the place and she shines so much, I can’t take my eyes away from her. Whenever some teenage boys visit the cafe and try to sweet talk Kotori, I have the strong urge to get my bow and arrow to get at them but I know I would be on the losing end eventually.” 

“Sometimes when I’m not with her, I still find myself thinking fondly about her, more times than you can imagine, and gradually I just fell in love with her. But it hurts because I don’t think Kotori will ever see me as more than a best friend.”

Umi exhales deeply after her confession, and Nozomi breathes out from Umi’s courage to actually tell her everything when she has always been closed off most of the times.

“Umi-chan.” Nozomi speaks with a tender tone. 

“I knew, you know.”

Umi’s eyes widen, staring back at Nozomi with a terrified look on her face.

“Ehhhhh??? How did you know?” 

Nozomi giggles softly, and pats Umi’s head, causing her to hunch slightly with a rather adorably guilty look on her face. 

“You’re very expressive you know. It’s so easy to tell you’ve got a little love trouble going on with kawaii Minalinksy-san whenever I see you two together.” 

“Mou, Nozomi-senpai… This is making me embarrassed.” Umi drones out as she chews her lips.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Nozomi answers positively, ruffling the blue haired girl’s head. 

“Falling in love, it’s quite a nerve-wracking but also very rewarding experience when you finally get there.”

Nozomi can’t believe that she actually said all that fluently, when she herself is having uncertainties regarding whatever that is going on between her and Eli. 

Umi lets out a sigh, and turns to face Nozomi with discerning amber eyes.

“Are you in love with Eli-senpai?”

* * *

“Are you ok with the tofu, Eli-senpai?” Kotori asks, while stirring the miso stock that is simmering in the pot. 

Cutting the silken tofu seems like a rather simple thing to do, but there’s no denying of the beads of sweat that is forming around Eli’s hairline as she does so. She is actually nervous at cutting it because 1. She didn’t want to accidentally cut her finger, and 2. She wanted to cut the tofu into perfect cubes. 

But before Eli has a chance to answer Kotori, her nerves got the best of her and suddenly a sharp pain seizes her finger, and all too soon fresh red blood starts trickling down the knife she is holding on to.

“AH SHIT!!” Eli yelps out, dropping the knife onto the floor and gripping at her bloody finger. 

“Eli-senpai!!!!!” Kotori shouts, rushing forward to pick up the knife and then picking up a clean white cloth from the table. 

She quickly wraps the cloth around Eli’s finger, making sure to apply pressure on it as she does so. 

“AH ah AH!” Eli groans in pain with each movement. 

“I’m sorry, this is going to hurt for a while!” Kotori says apologetically as she continues to press onto the wound, some of the blood seeping through the cloth. 

It takes about a minute for the blood to stop, and Kotori then unwraps the cloth and brings Eli’s finger under running water, triggering more screams from the older blonde.

* * *

“Alright, it’s done.” Kotori says calmly as she secures the bandage on Eli’s finger. 

Eli gives a bashful smile, as she looks at her neatly treated finger. 

“Mou, to think I want to take care of someone, yet here I am having someone taking care of me instead.” 

Kotori curls her lips to form a genuine smile. “It’s okay, what’s more important is that you feel fine now.” 

Kotori then goes back to her soup stock and lowers the heat, then going over to Eli’s tofu and taking over the cutting of it. 

“No wonder Nozomi-senpai said you were a bad cook huh?” Kotori mentions, giggling lightly. 

Eli’s cheeks redden, as she watches her junior start to gather the cut tofu and adding them into the soup stock.

“Yeah, I guess I really am.” Eli admits shyly. 

“But it’s okay, you’re a good student council president.” Kotori looks up midway from her cooking and beams widely. 

“I’m really not that good of a student council president…” Eli raises her hands to protest. 

“You are, Eli-senpai. Everyone in our first year class looks up to you. And, the culture festival was a huge success thanks to you.” 

Eli sighs in contentment, and trails her finger that is unwounded on the kitchen table. “It’s not me, really. Nozomi was the one that carried this whole event through from start to end.” 

“Ah, right. You two make a great team.” Kotori compliments, making Eli’s blush linger on her cheek. 

“I have to thank you and Umi too. You two did so much collaborating with our class for the haunted house.” Eli answers with a smile.

“Umi-chan feels distant from me throughout the whole cultural festival planning though.” 

The sudden change of tone in Kotori’s voice takes Eli aback, and suddenly she finds herself steering closer to the ash-brown haired girl. 

“Why? Aren’t you two always close?” 

Kotori turns the knob to let the fire diminish completely, signalling the completion of the boiling of the miso soup. 

“Yes, we’re best friends and we see each other almost everyday. But recently it always feels like she’s afraid to talk, or even make eye contact with me.” 

Upon hearing that, a conversation with Nozomi from weeks ago comes up in Eli’s mind. 

_“I think Umi is shy in the sense that she is dying to convey her feelings though..”_

Could Umi actually be feeling this way because she is keeping something from Kotori….? Was that feeling…. _Romantic?_

_Was the feeling the same kind of feeling Eli has right now?_

“Kotori.” Eli calls out, getting the younger girl’s attention.

“Have you ever loved anyone?” Eli mentions cautiously, hoping it wouldn’t sound too weird coming from her. 

“Eli-senpai…….?” Kotori looks back at Eli, astounded by the student council president’s sudden question. 

“Why does Umi’s recent actions make you feel sad?”

“I..” Kotori mutters, lowering her head with a slight pout to her face.

"Because she means a lot to me." She confesses. 

“Kotori-san, forgive me for asking this but-“

Eli pauses to take a breath, and form her next few words properly so it wouldn’t come off too strong. 

“To what extent does she mean to you?” 

Kotori blinks, and her fingers momentarily goes to fiddle with the material of her apron nervously. 

“Of course Umi means a lot to me as a friend, but sometimes I can’t help but to think of her as my prince charming too.” 

For the first time, the usual confident and unnerved Kotori dons a reddish face and an extremely shy look. 

“Prince charming?” Eli repeats, trying to get Kotori to explain further, although she can somehow grasp what she meant by that.

“Don’t get me wrong!” Kotori gasps, waving her hands around frantically. 

“I mean, Umi is very beautiful, but she also looks very charming whenever I see her during archery practice, and it gives me a weird feeling in my stomach.” 

Eli knows what that means, because she has definitely felt the flutters in her stomach whenever Nozomi does something that makes her anxious in the loveable kind of manner too.

“Thank you for being honest, Kotori-san.” 

Eli then winks at the girl, and raises her wounded finger at her. 

“Thank you for making most of the dinner too.” 

* * *

“Thank you for the dinner!!” Nozomi calls out, wrapping her blanket around her as she stands by the door to send Kotori and Umi off.

“No problem, Nozomi-senpai, I hope you feel better soon!” Kotori says cheerfully. 

“I feel so much better already.” Nozomi grins, and her glance shifts to the blue-haired girl. 

She goes closer to her, and whispers in her ear, “Thank you for keeping me company too, Umi-cchi.” 

“Thank you too.” Umi smiles. 

The two first years then turn to leave, leaving Nozomi and Eli alone in the house now.

“I’m done washing the dishes!” Eli exclaims, walking over to Nozomi.

Nozomi giggles as she sees the thick bandage around Eli’s finger. “Mou, Elicchi will never be a good cook!” 

“Hey!” Eli uses her bandaged finger to playfully swat Nozomi’s shoulder, letting out gasps of laughter as she did so. 

As soon as the laughter died down, the silence ensues, and the memory of what happened this afternoon comes back to the both of them. 

“So… That kiss…” Nozomi speaks in a deeper, serious tone. 

Eli’s glance shifts nervously to the window in the living room, unsure of how to answer that.

“What’s on Elicchi’s mind?” Nozomi asks again, probing a response from the blonde.

Eli looks back at Nozomi, blue eyes burying into green. 

She should just do it. If she had the courage to go for a kiss, she should have enough courage to convey her feelings too.

“I like you, Nozomi.” She says in one breath. Those are the same words she had typed out on text, but was too afraid to send.

“I like you too, Elicchi.” Nozomi responds almost instantly. 

Like was an easy and fast thing to say, and Eli knows that. 

“No—" Eli shakes her head profusely, her ponytail whipping quickly along with her head.

“I love you. I am attracted to you.” 

This time, Nozomi’s lips start to tremble, and she becomes speechless for words. No one has ever said that to her before. And hearing it from someone she met not long ago, it is an overwhelming feeling. She does like Eli. In fact, it is more than just a platonic kind of “like”, it’s obvious from the jitters she experiences when Eli laid her head on her chest earlier on.

“Elicchi.” Nozomi starts calmly. 

“I like you too, but I don’t know if I love you yet.” 

The hopefulness seems to disappear from the blonde’s face, her eyes looking doleful and downcast.

“But.” 

Nozomi takes a few steps front, closing the gap between them. She moves in closer to Eli, her mouth inching so close to her ear such that if anyone were to push them, her mouth would automatically coincide with her ear. 

“I do know that the kiss that happened just now is not going to be the last time that we kiss.” 

Eli looks at the purple-haired girl in shock, as she retracts from her ear and moves back, standing right in front of her, matching her glance. 

“I really like you, and I’m not saying this just to make you feel better. I just don’t want to go into the whole relationship thing yet because I want to be 100% sure that I love you first.” 

Nozomi tilts her head, flashing a genuine smile after what seemed like a rather tense situation between the both of them.

“After all, I never really had a friend until I met you.” 

“So you want to make sure that you’re not confusing your feelings towards me as a feeling of affection for a close friend?” 

Nozomi nods, her smile following.

“Understood. But just know that when you’re ready, I’m always here for you. My feelings for you are 100% and it’s not going to change.” Eli admits boldly, which surprises herself because she has never been this direct to anyone about how she feels before.

“Thank you, Elicchi.”

“So… I think I should be goin-“ 

“Stay with me.” Nozomi chimes in, startling the blonde. 

“Stay with me for tonight.” Nozomi holds on to the blonde’s hand, and she rubs against the bandaged finger tenderly. 

“Nozomi…” Eli breathes out, transfixed by the beauty of the purple-haired girl, despite how casual she looked when she’s sick. 

“Please?” Nozomi holds on tighter to the blonde’s hand with a pleading look. 

Eli curls her lips, and places her other hand on top of Nozomi’s.

“I’m here tonight, Nozomi.”

* * *

The next day, Eli wakes up beside Nozomi to realise that she herself has caught a little cold too. 


	10. Chapter 10

10\. Cause I'm never going down, I’m never giving up.

 

The air in the student council room is still, coupled with the silence that is present between the two girls at the moment. It is still an early morning, with about 40 minutes to spare before the start of their lessons for the day.

Eli’s chest rises, as a smile creaks up her face. She turns to the purple-haired girl next to her, and her mouth opens to finally speak up.

“It’s you. You’re appointed as student council vice president.” 

“Eh? I am!!” Nozomi pipes up, tethering on the edge of her seat. 

The blonde looks back at the over excited girl with a slightly confused look on her face.

“Why are you so surprised? You did so much, and it’s only deserving..” Eli’s cheeks redden as she folds her arms and look away shyly. 

At the moment, the blonde’s attempt to hide her shyness is interrupted by the sudden weight that is thrown onto her, making her almost lose her balance in her seat.

“Ahh! I’m so happy! I get to be in the student council with Elicchi!!!!” Nozomi chirps happily, as she finds herself straddling Eli’s thighs while hugging her tightly. 

As for Eli, she only feels her cheeks grow increasingly warm, and probably, redder than a red hot chill pepper. 

“Nozomi… I’m glad too but…” Eli’s glance shifts to her thighs, which is now fully occupied by the purple-haired girl. 

Realising this, Nozomi lets out a shy giggle, but doesn’t bulge. Instead, she inches closer to the left of Eli’s rosy cheek, and plants a kiss onto it. 

“Ehhhhh!!! What are you doing!” Eli yelps, her hands moving around frantically. 

Nozomi tenderly swipes her hand past the cheek that she kissed, and slowly gets up from her position. 

“Mou, didn’t I tell you before that the kiss in the haunted house wasn’t the last time that we were going to kiss?” Nozomi feigns innocence as she cups her hands to her mouth.

She moves closer to a panic-stricken Eli again, and whispers in her ear, “Besides, it was just on the cheek. I could go to your lips if you want.” 

Seeing that the blonde is completely and utterly helpless right now, Nozomi laughs heartily as she laces her finger in the blonde’s ponytail.

“Mou Elicchi, if we were to date you need to be more playful too you know….” The purple-haired winks and continues to twirl the blonde strand of hair in her hand.

Eli lowers her head slightly. “That’s not very fair of you, Nozomi… Besides, we can’t date if you haven’t told me you love me yet…”

“Oooooh? Impatient are we?” Nozomi exclaims with a grin. 

Despite the light-hearted humour and teasing that Nozomi continues to display regarding her intimate choice of actions, she does think a lot too. In fact, ever since Eli’s confession, she hasn’t got it out of her mind and she really wants to return Eli’s love too. But she needs it to be clear that there has to be a division between their new-found friendship and their romantic feelings. Otherwise if things don’t work out, it would become a huge mess, especially now that Nozomi will be working with Eli a lot in the student council.

“What about the other two girls then?” Nozomi asks, changing the subject. 

“What two girls?” Eli asks, raising her brows. 

“The two other purple-haired girls who were contesting for the role with me. Why weren’t either of them selected?” 

“Oh… Well Chizuko didn’t plan anything in particular…” Eli says with a resentful sigh as she supports her chin on her rested hand. 

“As for Akiru, she revamped the school webpage with a new design but it wasn’t enough to actually promote the school itself, so Nozomi, you were obviously the most impressive one.” 

“Ehhhhh, do you think so too, Elicchi?” Nozomi leans in to Eli, nudging her shoulders against the blonde’s. 

“Yes, you are…” Eli answers with a shy grin. 

“In fact, Nico actually put in good words for you to Principal Minami because you gave her a chance to perform, so that helped a lot too.” 

“Ohhhhhh really?” Nozomi’s turquoise eyes enlarge, surprised by the fact that the tiny idol-crazed girl would actually do such a thing. 

“Then I must thank her a lot when I see her in class later!” Nozomi continues with a wide smile.

* * *

After settling any last paperwork in the student council room, both girls turn to leave for their classes. On their way there, they pass by the first years’ classroom, and they stop in their tracks when a familiar black twin-tailed haired girl walks out of it.

“Oh, Nicocchi, I guess you finally found your real class, which is the first year class after all!” Nozomi teases the shorter girl, as Eli starts to crumple up in laughter at what she said.

With a mildly annoyed expression on her face, Nico huffs and crosses her arms together. 

“Hmph! Just cause you have big tiddies doesn’t make me any younger than you!” 

This sudden reaction from her takes Eli back, and her laughter escalates into a confused silence. Nozomi on the other hand, remains undisturbed. 

“Mou, Nicocchi is such a pervert… She may not be younger, but she’s definitely smaller than me if you know what I mean!” Nozomi starts to clench her fingers slightly, a sight that Eli has been used to—and also afraid, of seeing. 

“Nozomi! Stop, we’re in front of our junior’s class!” Eli grabs Nozomi’s hands, halting her movements. 

“Ehehehe, just kidding…” Nozomi then relaxes and puts her hand back down. 

“But thank you for putting in good words for me to Principal Minami.” Nozomi says in a more relaxed tone. 

“What, no, I didn’t do anything like that.” Nico presses her arms together tighter, and looks away. 

“Nico, don’t try to hide it.” Eli adds. 

“Hmph..” Nico opens one eye, and looks at the two taller girls before her. 

“Fine, Nico-Nico Idol Ni will accept your appreciation.” 

Both girls turn to each other, and smiled at the mutual thought of how their classmate is finally admitting her softer side. 

“So, what were you doing in that class?” Eli asks.

“I was giving Honoka our idol practice schedule. We don't stop being idols at the cultural festival you know!” Nico says with an indignant glare. 

“Wow, sugoi! You two are so passionate about this!” Nozomi clasps her hands together excitedly. 

“Say, we don’t have an Idol club do we?” She then turns to Eli and questions. 

“No, we don’t.” The blonde answers immediately. 

“Hmmm, maybe we can make it happen for our two super idols here!” Nozomi suggests, earning an eager smile from the shorter black-haired girl. However, she remains her cool, and quickly withdraws her smile to purse her lips back together.

“I’ll be waiting, titty monster and girly stalin.” Nico answers, directing her gaze between the two girls. 

“Hey, let’s walk to class together!” Nozomi suggests. 

“No, an idol like me needs to walk alone and get all the attention!” Nico exclaims, and starts to leave as soon as she says that. 

With that, it leaves the two student council heads alone. They peek into the first-year classroom behind them, and see that Kotori, Honoka and Umi are having a conversation with each other. And of course, even from a distance, it was so easy to notice Umi’s shy body language with Kotori around. 

Soon, Nozomi and Eli start to pick up pace as they walk to their class. 

“Nico really loves bringing up about tidd- I mean, your chest huh.” Eli asks, trying not to cringe when she says that. 

“Hm? Jealous that she’s been looking over there?” Nozomi winks at the blonde. 

“No-NO!! I’m not!!!” Eli exclaims loudly, her eyes darting to every corner anxiously. 

“Ehehehe, but don’t worry, no one can touch them except for you…” 

“Nozomi!!! Stop being such an indecent person!!!!” Eli yells at the girl beside her, although inside her heart was beating so wildly.

Nozomi continues to giggle at her attempts to once again, cause the blonde to erupt into a flustered person. 

At the same time, she thinks back to the sight of Umi and Kotori together, and her own conversation with Umi last week when she was in her room. 

“Hey,” Nozomi starts, her voice a little deeper this time, showing her serious side. 

Eli looks to her side, nodding for her to go on.

“Do you think Umi-chan has a little crush on Kotori-chan?” 

“Eh, what…?” Eli murmurs, as she recollects that conversation she had with Kotori in the kitchen regarding how Kotori feels about Umi.

“I mean, I know I’m supposed to keep this a secret but I have to tell you because you know those two longer than me…” 

“Did Umi tell you something about Kotori too?” Eli speaks before Nozomi has a chance to continue. 

“Well, yeah, Umi confessed to me that she likes Kotori-chan in my bedroom while you two were in the kitchen.” 

Eli nods, and she curls her lips to form a furtive smile. 

“Well, Kotori-san told me how Umi makes her feel too while we were in the kitchen.” 

“Ehhhhh, really?” Nozomi answers in shock. 

“Yeah, so I guess it’s safe to say there’s some sort of feeling there between them, but they don’t know how to get it past each other yet.” Eli answers confidently. 

“Who would have thought our juniors would have that kind of attraction to each other too huh?” Nozomi grins. 

“Should we set up the both of them then?” She continues, with a raise of her brows and a sneaky smile.

“Really? How?” Eli questions, surprisingly interested at the idea. 

Nozomi looks up for a while as she thinks, and snaps her head back when she finally thought about it. 

“We could go on a double date!” 

As soon as she hears the two words ‘double date’ come out from the purple-haired’s mouth, she grits her teeth and feels her cheeks warming up. 

“Oh, but we won’t call it a double date. We’ll just say that it’s a hangout for all 4 of us!” 

Eli sharply inhales, shaking her panic away. “And what will we do?”

“Hm, we could go to a theme park! That’s the best place to have fun and see romantic feelings bloom too!” Nozomi cooes into the air as they walk. 

“Mou, Nozomi… You’re such a nerd.” Eli gives a tender smile as she looks at the excited student council vice-president beside her. 

“I could get us tickets to Disneyland. My mother’s friend runs an entertainment ticketing agency.” 

“EEHHHHHHHHH? Disneyland?!! Seriously?” Nozomi widens her turquoise eyes and hops on her feet in excitement. 

“Yeah, I mean, that’s how my mom got us free movie tickets to the anime movie we watched too.” 

Nozomi clings onto Eli’s arms, and rubs her head on her shoulders in an affectionate manner. 

“Elicchi is the best!!!”

* * *

“Tadaima!” Eli announces as she steps into her home. 

As usual, the smell of dinner for the night fills the room, and Eli immediately goes into the kitchen to greet her mother. 

“Okaeri, Elichika.” The older looking blonde greets back while stirring the broth in the pot. 

“Oka-san, I need to ask a favour from you.”

Eli’s mother lifts a brow in suspicion. “What is it?” 

“Well, I need you to help me ask your friend to help me get 2 pairs of entrance tickets to Disneyland.” 

Realising this sounds too demanding, Eli then gulps and quickly continues, “I mean, if you need me to pay for them I can!” 

The older blonde lets out a heart laugh, and places the ladle on the table, allowing the broth to continue boiling. She wipes her hand on her apron, and looks back at her daughter with a stern look on her face. 

“Eli, I can get them for you for free PROVIDED-“

Eli chews her bottom lip, awaiting her mother’s response. 

“You cook dinner on days I tell you to, and help Alisa with her homework.” Her mother then relaxes her facial muscles, relieving the strict look on her face to from a rather sly grin. 

“Oka-san… I can’t cook that well you know..” Eli states, with an embarrassed look on her face as she recounted the number of failed attempts to cook with, and for Nozomi. 

“Then you won’t get your Disneyland tickets!” The older blonde teases.

“Mou…” Eli drawls out. “Fine, i’ll do it!” 

* * *

Ayase Eli (5.46PM): My mother agreed to get us the tickets! :)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.47PM): sugoi!!!! let’s tell the other two lovebirds in our group (｡－‿ ◕｡)

* * *

Ayase Eli (5.47PM): Hello! I have 4 free tickets to Disneyland this weekend, and I was wondering if all of us would like to go? :)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.47PM): disneyland?!!!! omg elicchi! yesssss i’m in!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ 

Eli laughs at Nozomi trying to play along, which is rather adorable. 

Minami Kotori (5.49PM): Really? I would love to! (≧∇≦)/ 

Ayase Eli (5.49PM): Umi-san? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.50PM): umiiiiichiiiii 

Minami Kotori (5.50PM): umi-chan, pls reply, ONEGAI!

Sonoda Umi (5.52PM): Oh hey, sorry, I was in the shower. 

Eli smiles to herself as she notices how Umi replied as soon as Kotori leaves a text, not forgetting the ‘onegai’ that could probably be the blue-haired’s kryptonite. 

Sonoda Umi (5.53PM): Sounds fun! I’ll be free this Saturday so I can go! 

At the same time, Eli receives a separate individual chat from Nozomi and she switches to her chat screen with her. Nozomi forwards the message that Kotori sent with her reply. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.54PM): Forwarded Message | From: Kotori | umi-chan, pls reply, ONEGAI! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.54PM): umi-chan is a sucker for kotori’s onegai ;) 

Ayase Eli (5.55PM): I know, I was about to tell you that! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.55PM): ehehe, i wonder what elicchi is a sucker for for me… 

Even in the quiet depths of her room, Eli can feel herself feeling shy. The thing is, Eli is a sucker for Nozomi’s everything, but of course she couldn’t outright admit it to her purple-haired crush. 

Ayase Eli (5.56PM): I am a sucker for you learning how to quieten down a little. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.56PM): mou, elicchi is such a meanie!! (๑◕︵◕๑) 

Ayase Eli (5.56PM): You are a loser eggplant. 

Ayase Eli (5.57PM): ∩(︶▽︶)∩ 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.57PM): hey! says the girly stalin! 

Eli snorts unknowingly as she sees the nickname that Nico first used to call her this morning. It was quite a stereotypical thing to say, since Nico probably gets the Stalin reference seeing that Eli is part-Russian, but it was so lame that it was quite amusing too. And since Nozomi started using it too, Eli couldn't possibly deny her. 

At the moment, there is a knock on the door and Eli quickly hastens over to open it. Her younger sister stands behind the door, holding her textbook close to her chest.

"Onee-chan, oka-san said you could help me with my homework!" 

Eli looks back at the younger blonde with a confused look on her face. _Her mother has already acted on it so fast??!_

"Your chores in return for the tickets start today! No buts!" Eli's mother bellows from the kitchen. 

Eli gives a crooked smile, as she reluctantly makes her way out of her room and follows Alisa to the dining table to help her with her homework. It is one of the moments again where Eli internally curses herself for coming up with such hasty decisions on the spot. But then again, she has to admit that she is quite excited for this theme park 'date' with her and her crush.


	11. Chapter 11

11\. I’m never gonna leave, So put your hands up.

 

“Onee-chan! Onee-chan!!” Eli groans lightly as she half-awakens from the incessant tugging at her sheets. 

She yawns, and manages to fully open both eyes, only to face two similar pair of light blue eyes.

“Alisa?” Eli mutters, donning a slightly raspy voice as she rubs at both of her eyes. 

“Nozomi onee-sama is here!” 

“No-zo-m-i…?” The blonde mouths slowly, still in a daze.

“Yes! She’s waiting for you in the living room!” The younger blonde hops on her feet, pulling the sheets away from her older sister in an attempt to get her up.

She’s waiting for me in the living room… 

WAIT. SHE’S IN MY HOUSE?!!

Eli quickly sits up in her bed, her eyes darting furiously around her bed to find her phone.

“Onee-chan, it’s here.” Alisa hands over her phone and Eli flashes a quick smile before going over to check it. 

 

_7 missed calls._

_41 unread texts_

 

Eli blinks hard, as she rotates between looking at the missed notifications and the time on her phone. 

It is only 8.45AM. On a Saturday. And her alarm is set to 9AM. So why does it seem like she is late or something? She quickly taps on her notification screen, opening up the unread texts that came in from the group chat she shares with Nozomi, Kotori and Umi.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.37AM): ohayo, everyone! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Sonoda Umi (7.42AM): Good morning! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.43AM): woah, umi-chan is early isn’t she? 

Sonoda Umi (7.43AM): Yeah, I’m quite an early riser especially when it comes to staying in a place that isn’t my own. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.43AM): a sleepover?? sounds fun!! (*＾▽＾)／

Sonoda Umi (7.44AM): Yeah, I’m at Kotori’s place actually. I was at her place last night to do our homework together and since we were going to be out together today I thought it would be easier to stay over. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.44AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.44AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.44AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.44AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sonoda Umi (7.45AM): What….? What’s with that face Nozomi?

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.45AM): nothing!!! (｡－‿ ◕｡)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.45AM): mou, it’s just two of us here. maybe we should text again later when the other two are awake 

Sonoda Umi (7.46AM): Oh, Kotori just woke up.

Minami Kotori (7.48AM): Ohayo! i’m so excited! (≧∇≦)/ 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.48AM): so i guess it’s just elicchi now huh…….. (｡－‿ ◕｡) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.48AM): elicchiiiiii

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.49AM): wake up wake up!!!!!!!

Minami Kotori (7.49AM): Eheheh, maybe we should let her sleep first? 

Sonoda Umi (7.49 AM): Yeah, besides, we’re meeting at 10.30AM and it’s still early.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.49AM): you two are such considerate juniors… hehe ok then, we shall call her up again later… ;)

Minami Kotori (7.56AM): Umi-chan!!! I just realised I don’t have breakfast at home (๑•́ ω •̀๑)

Sonoda Umi (7.57AM): Kotori….. Do you know we’re literally sitting beside each other in the same room? 

Minami Kotori (7.57AM): but texting together like this, it’s quite fun don’t you think? (≧∇≦)/

Sonoda Umi (7.57AM): Sure…… 

Sonoda Umi (7.57AM): Anyway, I guess we could eat out then? And then from there we can go straight to the Akiba station to meet Nozomi and Eli! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.58AM) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Minami Kotori (7.59AM): Nozomi chan……?

Sonoda Umi (7.59AM): I don’t know why she keeps sending that weird looking face..

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.59AM): nothing!! have a fun breakfast, see u later! :D

Eli then goes over to her own individual chat with Nozomi, with unread messages as well. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.00AM): elicchi!!!!!!!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.00AM): i know you’re asleep, but u really gotta try to wake up soon! did u see the group? kotori and umi are going out for breakfast together!!! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.00AM): wake up and we can stalk them!! ;) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.00AM): elichiiiiiiiiiiiii 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.04AM): mou, you’re such a sleepy blondie, you can sleep through all that phone calls??? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.06AM): i guess i’m just gonna come over and wake u up myself eheheh (｡－‿ ◕｡)

Eli slowly puts her phone down, processing all the texts that she has just read. 

Nozomi. Is. In. Her. house. Right. Now.

In fact, she’s just outside in the living room. 

“Onee-chan! I’ll go get her now!” 

“Wait! Alisa!” 

Before Eli can continue to say anything however, her younger sister has already left her side, and opening the door of her room. As she does so, she can see from the crack of the door that a purple-haired figure has occupied the space on the couch of her living room.

“Onee-chan is awake!” She hears Alisa’s childish voice from outside. 

SHIT. 

The blonde rushes over to her dressing table, and looks back at herself in the mirror. 

She’s a mess. A rudely awakened mess. 

She quickly pats the parts of her hair that is standing up, but to no avail. Seriously, of all days she has to have the worst bed hair ever.

“Sleepyhead Elicchi is finally up!” 

That voice. 

SHIT.

Eli swallows her breath, and her mouth goes dry. She stares blankly at the mirror before her, unable to turn her head to face her crush in this manner. Little does she know, the mirror bears a reflection and so, she sees the reflection of Nozomi slowly appearing from behind her. 

“Sleepyhead Elicchi still isn’t dressed huh?”

Eli immediately comes to her senses as soon as she feels the grasp of Nozomi’s hands on her chest. To add it on, she doesn't have a bra underneath her sleeping outfit. Her panicky and clumsy feet trips over the foot of the dressing table.

This action however, only causes a more intensifying grip on Eli’s boobs as Nozomi grips onto them more to support Eli from falling over. 

“NOZOMI!!!!!” Eli clutches both hands against her now-sore chest, and cries out. 

“I saved you!” Nozomi winks, not feeling any merciless of the whole situation.

Eli frowns and looks away from the purple-haired girl, extremely embarrassed with whatever that happened in a short span of a few minutes.

“Ehhh! Why are you so shy for! I have seen your face in the morning after all!” 

Eli thinks back to the time when she stayed over at Nozomi’s apartment to take care of her while she was sick. Unfortunately during the morning after, she ended up sick as well. 

“Well, t-t-that was because we were both sick so i didn’t care about my appearance!” She stutters, her back still facing Nozomi.

Suddenly, she feels a tug at her shoulders and is immediately spun around to face Nozomi. 

Nozomi, with her usual twin-tail now tied up in a side french braid, along with light makeup compliments her casual outfit - a white top and a purple skort, along with a denim outerwear and black thigh high stockings. Even for a theme park ‘date’ she already looks like a freakin goddess. 

And there is Eli, with unkempt hair and boobs not even in place of a bra. 

“Elicchi.” Nozomi speaks gently, lifting up her hand to caress Eli’s hot cheek. 

“You’re very beautiful.” 

Nozomi’s alluring gaze and tender voice as she said those three words sounded so genuine, that Eli could not find any way to take it as any form of sarcasm.

“No-nozomi..” Eli mutters, trying to hide her smile from being praised by the girl she loves.

Nozomi keeps quiet, the smile on her face unwavering. 

It is not only until Eli sees Nozomi leaning in close to her face, that she feels her surge of panic rise again. 

“WAIT!!!!!! I haven’t brushed my teeth!” Eli yelps, and quickly bolts out of her room and into the bathroom. 

Nozomi giggles as she sees the student council president acting in a very un-student council president like manner. Starting to fall in love with that dork is actually easier than she thought. 

* * *

“Okay, I see them!!! Let’s find a booth where we can stay hidden and spy them at the same time!” Nozomi whispers in a hushed voice as the two of them enter the fast food restaurant besides the Akihabara station.

The fast food restaurant is already very crowded on a Saturday morning, so it’s quite easy to stay hidden within the crowd. 

Kotori and Umi are sitting near the windows, and looking at their body language when they’re having breakfast together, it almost seems like they are a couple out on a date. Even the way they dress seems kind of matching, which is what most couples do - Kotori with a short denim dress, and black stockings underneath, paired with a thin beige outerwear. Umi dons a pale beige romper, along with a similar looking denim jacket. In fact, they’re wearing opposite colours, which makes the whole matching couples scenario more real. 

“Mou, Nozomi, I can’t believe you’re so serious about this. Even coming to my house to wake me up just so we can spy on them earlier.” Eli says, as she settles in to her seat.

Nozomi looks up from the menu to see Kotori and Umi dining at one corner, and ducks back behind it to keep herself hidden. 

“Since the point of today is to make Kotori and Umi realise their feelings, we should start right from the first time they interact with each other, which is right now!” Nozomi mutters softly, and Eli grins at how Nozomi actually looks so serious in all of this.

* * *

“Ah I’m so excited! I haven’t been to Disneyland before!” Kotori pipes up cheerfully, before putting a piece of pancake into her mouth. 

“Well I haven’t been there before too..” Umi confesses, as she takes a sip out of her drink.

“I wonder why we haven’t suggested that before with Honoka… And we only thought about it only until Nozomi and Eli-chan told us about it.” Kotori hums, cutting into her pancake.

“Yeah, and I thought of asking Honoka along too, but she’s busy with her idol practice with Nico-senpai.” 

“But it’s okay!” Kotori puts another piece of pancake into her mouth, and her free hand goes over to pat Umi’s hands which are resting on the table. 

“It means that my first Disneyland trip will be with you!” 

And just like that, Umi’s cheeks redden and she lowers her head, giving a shy smile. 

* * *

“DID U SEE THAT?!!!” Nozomi tries to mouth through her gritted teeth to keep her volume down.

“Yeah, Umi’s blushing like mad.” Eli notices as she peeks out from her menu. 

“I wonder what Kotori-chan said…” Nozomi drawls out.

“OH!!” Nozomi pipes up excitedly, to which she quickly realises and ducks back behind her menu.

“Maybe Kotori-chan did the onegai thing, making Umi-chan so shy!” 

“Seriously Nozomi…” Eli chuckles, and pokes the side of her head. “You’re full of imagination.” 

* * *

“I’m done!” Kotori announces as she dabs at the area around her mouth with a piece of tissue.

“Me too.” Umi replies, and checks the time on her watch. 

“It’s 10.15AM already, do you think they’re at the station yet?” Umi looks at the glass window beside her which bears the view of the bustling Akihabara station. 

“They should be, I mean, Nozomi-chan woke up really early!” Kotori chimes in. 

Kotori stands up, and collects her finished tray along with Umi’s, and proceeds to return them at the return tray counter. As she stands up, she gets a better view of the restaurant, and of course, a more obvious view of the two familiar figures acting rather suspiciously.

“Actually, I think Nozomi and Eli-chan are there.” Kotori points to the corner at which Nozomi and Eli are. 

Umi’s glance follows, and notices them as well.

“They saw us!” Eli hisses, the fear in her eyes evident. 

“Play along!” Nozomi replies swiftly, and quickly puts the menu back to its place on the table, to which Eli follows. 

“Nozomi-chan! Eli-chan! What are you two doing here?” Kotori asks enthusiastically. 

“Oh, well, since you two said you were going to have breakfast here before meeting us at the station, we decided to have our breakfast here too!” 

Seriously… Nozomi may be smart at most times but what she said… That wasn’t very smart to play along. 

Eli gives off a crooked smile, hiding the guilt that she has inside. 

“But you two don’t have any food on your table?” Umi observes the clean table before the two seniors. 

“Ah, we were deciding what to eat, but I realised that if we ordered our food right now, we wouldn’t make it for our meeting time. We were just about to leave too!” Eli quickly adds in. 

“Yeah, blame it on Elicchi waking up late.” Nozomi smiles and nudges Eli’s shoulder. 

“Nozomi! It’s not my fault you wanted me to wake up even earlier than I thought!” Eli barks back. 

“Well then, shall we go?” Umi asks, making both Nozomi and Eli realise that they’re not the only ones there. 

“Yes!! We should! I didn’t wake up this early for nothing!” Nozomi hops up from her seat and exclaims. 

The four girls then make their way to the Akihabara station, overcoming the crowd of teenagers having their own plans with their friends for the weekend. 

* * *

“Ahhhh sugoi!!!! It’s so pretty!” Kotori runs over to the entrance of the ticketing counter of Disneyland, marvelling the interior of the place beyond the entrance. Nozomi joins in as well, leaving Umi and Eli who are still slowly walking behind.

“Mou, you all may rush, but I’m the one who has your tickets!” Eli calls out towards them, but it seems her words doesn’t faze the overly excited girls in front. 

“They’re such kids. Even Nozomi.” Eli sighs, and smiles as she turns towards the blue-haired girl beside her. 

“I actually feel kind of happy though.” Umi says, with a shy grin. 

“Do you? Then beat me to running over to join them then!” Eli pipes up, starting to pick up pace as she hurries over to Kotori and Nozomi’s side, chuckling as she did so. 

“Eli!!!” Umi shouts, and in turn, reluctantly runs over to join the three of them too as she doesn't want to be left behind. 

* * *

“Wow!!!! There are so many attractions!!!” Kotori’s eyes lights up as she looks at the map that Eli is holding out in front of all of them once they are in the theme park.

“Which do we go first?” Eli asks the group. 

“Why don’t we go clockwise? So we’ll start with Tomorrowland first.” Umi suggests. 

“Oh, right! Nice going, Umi-chan!!” Nozomi agrees in anticipation.

* * *

 They find themselves lucky as they see that there is hardly any queue at their first attraction, which is the Buzz Lightyear Astroblaster, and immediately gets their turn at the ride. Nozomi and Eli make a pact to always queue in front of Kotori and Umi, so that they can always sit together, leaving the other two to always be seated with each other, although that isn’t really a matter because Kotori and Umi are always beside each other anyway. 

The ride starts to pick up in the darkened room, with only the neon lights shining the way. They have a laser gun in front of their seats, and their goal was to shoot at the aim on every item as the ride goes along. 

“Umi-chan, I know how good your aim is with your archery experience, but Elicchi and I will definitely win you this time!” Nozomi beams widely as she turns to the girls behind them.

“Nozomi-chan, I’m sorry but it’s impossible to win Umi-chan!! She’s already getting started!” Kotori says, pointing to the blue-haired first year who is already perched at the edge of her seats, pointing her gun at the different targets in the room.

“NOZOMI! Why don’t you help me out a little!” A voice surfaces from beside her and Nozomi turns her glance to the blonde by her side who is pressing the trigger aggressively. She doesn’t quite get the target properly though. 

“Elicchi, you suck!!!!!!” Nozomi chants happily as she takes her own gun to help Eli.

* * *

 “600,579 points…. That’s quite a lot, we did it!” Eli cheers as she raises her hands to high five Nozomi. 

Their celebration is cut short when Kotori declares, “2,403,568 points!!!!!” 

Both Nozomi’s and Eli’s eyes shoot up as they hear the almost impossible score coming from the two girls at the back. 

“What???!” Nozomi and Eli turn to each other and exclaim in shock. 

“Ah, that was fun.” Umi smiles to herself, as she puts the gun back into the holder in front of the seat. 

“How did she…?” Eli whispers to Nozomi, who is still in shock. 

“Umi-chan sugoi!!! You didn’t miss anything!!!” Kotori claps her hands in delight, her eyes brimming with pride as she keeps her glance at Umi. 

“Do you see that??? Look at how she looks at Umi! She’s so impressed!” Nozomi nudges Eli and whispers. 

“Yes! I guess it’s fine we lost huh.” Eli replies with a wink.

The girls then go over to the next attraction in Tomorrowland, which is a more intense ride as compared to the previous attraction. It is basically a high speed rollercoaster in the dark. 

“All of us are okay with roller-coasters right?” Eli asks the group.

“We’re all fine, aren’t we?” Nozomi confirms, and the two juniors nod their head.

“I wonder if Elicchi is fine though….” Nozomi teases, leaning in to Eli with a smirk on her face.

“Wha-what?! I may not fancy haunted houses, but I’m perfectly fine with roller coasters!” Eli retorts. 

“Hai, hai. Elicchi is a brave little blondie.” Nozomi continues to tease, making Eli grunt more.

Nevertheless, the one who produces the loudest and sharpest screams comes from none other than a frightened Ayase Eli. 

* * *

“A roller coaster in the dark is so cool! I love it!!!!!!!” Kotori bursts out in excitement, her long ash-brown hair slightly tousled from the wind during the rollercoaster.

“Wait, Kotori.” Umi says, and her hands briefly goes to a hair that is falling into Kotori’s face, and tucking it neatly behind her ear.

“Hehe, thank you Umi-chan!” 

Nozomi quickly takes out her phone from her backpack, and types a fast message to Eli. 

Eli receives the notification, and checks her phone. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): umi-chan initiated a romantic gesture!!!!!!!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (12.01PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Eli calmly puts her phone back after checking the message, and shoots a devious glance at the purple-haired girl beside her. 

“Seriously? Texting me just for that?” 

Eli’s voice alerts the other two girls, and they look back at them in concern.

“Eli-chan? Is everything okay?” Kotori asks. 

“It’s nothing! Just student council messages!” Nozomi chimes in to help answer for Eli. 

She takes her phone again and quickly sends another text.

Eli rolls her eyes at her, knowing it’s another weird looking face emoticon that Nozomi sent.

“Shall we move on to Fantasyland now?” Eli asks, ignoring whatever that Nozomi did, which only makes the purple-haired pout. 

“Ah yes!!!” Kotori clasps her hands together and grins widely. “Fantasyland is so fuwa fuwa!!!”

* * *

“Eh?!” Eli tries to keep a straight face, but eventually gives in to the horrors of her past.

“What part of this is a fantasy? It’s a nightmare!” Eli yells, as she points to the haunted mansion attraction within Fantasyland. 

“Mou, we already had our experience with the haunted house together during the cultural festival. This shouldn’t be a problem!” Nozomi drawls out, clinging onto Eli’s arms as they join the queue. 

Eli gulps and turns to see Kotori, who strangely looks petrified as well.

“I’m quite scared too… I was only in the maid cafe part at the end of the haunted house in our school, so I don’t know what to expect….” Kotori’s usual lively demeanour fades as she looks back at the haunted mansion attraction in trepidation.

Taking advantage of her fear, Eli gives a big smile and reaches for Kotori’s shoulder. 

“Well let’s sit this out shall we?” 

“NO.” 

The loud ‘NO’ comes from Umi, and all three girls become stunned at Umi’s sudden change of tone. 

“Everyone has to go in together.” She continues. 

At this moment, Umi’s sudden fierceness is already scary enough. 

“Mou, Umi-chan must have had a pretty great time scaring us during the haunted house huh.” Nozomi mentions.

* * *

The girls find themselves strapped in to their seats in the haunted mansion attraction, and Eli gulps as she hears the creepy sound effects in the background. 

“Actually, this is rather whimsical than scary. It’s Disney after all.” Nozomi says, in an attempt to calm the horrified blonde beside her. 

“No…. I can’t do this still!” Eli closes her eyes and covers her face with her hands as the ride starts to move slowly. 

“Silly Elicchi…. Why would you cover your face when your eyes are already closing!” Nozomi notices, and lets out a snort. 

“Wh-a-a-at!” Eli manages to choke out, her hands shivering. 

“Why don’t you talk about something that will make you less afraid?” Nozomi’s voice comes out softly. 

_Those words…. That was the same thing Nozomi said to her during their walkthrough in the haunted house which led to the first kiss between them._

Eli feels warm hands touching hers, and the gentleness of Nozomi’s hands indeed makes her feel safer, but she still doesn’t dare to open her eyes. 

“Elicchi.” Nozomi’s breath tickles her ear, but she continues to keep her eyes shut. 

“Ah, this hurts!” Nozomi then cries out, and Eli finally opens her eyes to see Nozomi’s arms straining as she moves closer to her, due to the impact of them being strapped in to their respective seats. 

“It’s okay! Just go back to your seat! I will close my eyes throughout!” Eli exclaims.

“Then close your eyes and kiss me.” Nozomi speaks softly. 

“Eh.. What?”

“Kiss me, Elicchi.”

“But.. But.” Eli mutters, her eyes half-closed. 

Eli can still make out Nozomi’s facial features even in the dark, and she inhales deeply. She squeezes past the edge of her seats, and pushes her face close to the person beside her. Her hands move around the space around her, until she feels Nozomi’s cheek. Eli takes another breath, and inches closer to Nozomi’s face. Her lips.. They’re so close now. Eli moves her head even closer, and her lips make contact with Nozomi’s. She feels her heart beating insanely fast, and even her stomach feels a little uneasy, as if a million things are churning inside. 

Eli tentatively tastes the peppermint from Nozomi’s lip balm, and she boldly sticks out her tongue to trace more of it on her bottom lips. 

“Using your tongue now huh?” 

Nozomi says, their mouth still in contact with each other’s. 

“Yeah, I just really like your lip balm.” Eli murmurs.

“Elicchi, you can actually be quite naughty when you want to.”

Eli gulps, before sliding her tongue in to Nozomi’s mouth.

She feels Nozomi’s tongue against hers too, and they use their tongues to deepen their kiss between each other.

Honestly, Eli is surprised at how bold she was. During their first kiss, all Eli did was press her lips to Nozomi’s, and kissed her normally. This time however, something just made Eli deepen the kiss and add in her tongue, or maybe it was really just the lip balm. But something about this kiss feels so good in a different kind of way - she surprises herself again, when she hears a soft moan escape Nozomi’s mouth. Nozomi. Just. Moaned.

“Elicchi.” Nozomi calls out, her own heart beating vigorously. She didn’t expect Eli to kiss her like that at all. But she loved it a lot. 

“Yes, Nozomi?” Eli answers back, still trying to regain her composure after that heated kiss in the dark. 

“That was really unexpected… But it made me… Feel good.” Nozomi admits. 

For one of the first few times in her life, Nozomi is glad that the darkness they are in will be able to conceal the mad blush on her face right now from whatever that just happened. 

“Same here.” Eli agrees shyly. 

“Shit, we forgot to spy on Kotori and Umi!” Nozomi exclaims.

“It’s fine.” Eli smiles, even though Nozomi won’t be able to see it. “We can’t spy them in the dark after all.” 

Nozomi turns to the side and stares at the dark figure beside her. She can still make out Eli’s adorable ponytail, and her hands go over to it and she laces her finger in between them. 

“Elicchi isn’t afraid of the dark and haunted houses anymore huh?” 

* * *

“Should we take a break and have lunch?” Eli asks, as they pass by the food area in the theme park.

“Ah, we’ll just have drinks. Kotori-chan and I are still full from breakfast just now.” Umi smiles as they walk over to get a space in the food centre.

“Sure, Nozomi and I will get drinks for you. What do you two want?” The blonde offers. 

“Ah, I want the minnie mouse milkshake!” Kotori chirps, her eyes glistening. 

Umi peeks a glance at the cute ash-brown hared girl beside her and smiles. “I’ll have the same thing as her.”

* * *

“2 chocolate parfaits and 2 minnie mouse milkshakes!” Eli calls out her order.

Nozomi’s eyes widen, and she quickly cuts in.

“Make it 1 minnie mouse milkshake!” 

“Nozomi?” Eli asks, confused by Nozomi’s change to the order.

“Mou, Elicchi… I thought you were catching on to the plan when you suggested to order for them!” 

“Eh…? What plan?” Eli looks back, bewildered. 

“Since they ordered the same drink, we’ll just pretend they only have 1 of the drink left so they can share from the same drink!!” Nozomi exclaims, and Eli finally understands Nozomi’s actions. 

“Mou, Elicchi is so baka…” Nozomi teases, while paying for the final order. 

Eli responds with a slight pout to her face. Nozomi is so childish, yet unbelievably smart.

“We’re back!” Nozomi carries the tray holding their desserts and drink to the table. 

“Sorry, but they only have 1 milkshake left, so you two have to share!” Eli musters up the most apologetic face she can give as Nozomi lays out the items on the table in front of them.

“That’s okay! Right, Umi-chan?” Kotori asks sweetly to a very, very flushed Umi. 

“Y-y-yeah it is!” She mutters out uncontrollably. 

As Nozomi and Eli eat their parfaits slowly, their gaze often lingers on the juniors sitting beside them. 

Umi will wait till Kotori has finished sipping on her straw, then go over to her own straw to sip her drink. She will never sip her drink the same time as Kotori did, which slightly frustrates Nozomi. 

As Kotori lowers her head to take another sip, Nozomi quickly bursts out, “Umi-chan! If you don’t drink as much, your share of money on this drink is going to be wasted ya know!” 

Eli cups her hands to her mouth to prevent from laughing at Nozomi’s attempts to bring the two closer together. 

“That’s true…” Umi admits defeatedly. She carefully holds on to her loose blue strands of hair, preventing it from falling into her face as she moves closer to the straw to drink. 

Nozomi gives a sly grin as she watches the two’s heads in close proximity with each other. Their heads get even closer when Kotori accidentally bumps her head against Umi’s.

“Ah, Umi-chan! Sorry!!!!” Kotori apologises, and this time, her face actually goes red. 

Umi laughs softly, and a sly smile forms on her lips as she takes the whole drink and holds it in her hand. 

“Then I’ll finish this as your apology!” 

Eli’s laughter escapes her mouths and this brings to the attention of the two younger girls. She quickly stops her laughter, and shifts her glance to Nozomi.

“Ah Nozomi, I think the parfait at Kotori’s maid cafe tastes nicer doesn’t it?” 

However, Nozomi isn’t there to actually respond to Eli’s diversion as she is facing downwards, texting on her phone. 

Eli sighs and rolls her eyes as she takes out her own phone to see what Nozomi is saying this time. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.35PM): umi-chan is being playful! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Eli keeps her phone into her pocket, and her hand lands on Nozomi’s thighs, giving it a hard squeeze. Nozomi keeps her mouth shut, preventing a whimper to escape her throat.

She quickly types in another text within the same minute. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (2.36PM): elicchi is being playful toOO!!!!

* * *

After lunch, the four of them move on to the actual fantasy side of Fantasyland, getting into the Pooh’s Hunny Hunt ride. As compared to the previous rides they took, this ride allows for 4 people on one seat, and hence, this time the whole ride is just for the 4 of them as friends, and none of the scheming coupling plans have been put into use at all.

They then move on to Critter Country, where the popular attraction Splash Mountain is. 

“Does anyone need to get a towel or raincoat before we get on it?” Eli questions.

“I don’t need it. Getting wet is the fun part!” Umi answers, all ready for the ride. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait!” Kotori joins in.

Eli sees from the side of her eye that Nozomi is texting again with probably the same emoticon that she sends every time Umi or Kotori does or says something that is taken out of context.

“Well, I’m going to get a towel. Please wait for me!” Eli instructs and both of the younger girls nod.

“She’s going to come back with a very special towel.” Nozomi mentions with a sneaky grin to the two girls, and the both of them look at each other with a confused look on her face as Nozomi runs off to join Eli at the souvenir store.

As soon as she sees Eli picking up a normal towel, Nozomi scurries over to her and takes the towel out of her hands, replacing it with a rather unique towel. It is a Winnie the Pooh towel, but the special thing is that is has a hoodie on top, matching with Winnie The Pooh’s head.

“No-No-Nozomi… Are you serious?” Eli answers, her brows furrowing, showing her slight contempt. 

“Yes! I got a matching one too! It’s Tigger!” Nozomi holds up her packaged towel, with Tigger’s head popping out from the hood of the towel. 

“I even got matching ones for Kotori and Umi!” She takes out another two packages, and theirs are matching Chip and Dale hoodie towels. 

“You can just get it for them, I’m not wearing it!” Eli huffs.

“Mou, Elicchi…… When you come to Disneyland you should buy fanciful things rather than normal towels you can get anywhere!” 

Eli looks back at the hooded towels in Nozomi’s hands, and the one that she passed to her in her own hand.

“Fine! But I’ll only wear it for the ride!” Eli concedes, and moves to the cashier to pay for them.

* * *

But somehow, Nozomi has convinced Eli to put the towel on before they even make it out of the store. Eli walks out grumpily, hiding her face as she does so. 

“OMG! Eli-chan!!! Nozomi-chan! KAWAII!!!” Kotori cooes as she looks at the grumpy blonde walking towards them. 

“Nozomi made me do it!” Eli pouts, and pretends to act angry at the purple-haired girl.

“We look pretty cute don’t we?” Nozomi ignores the blonde’s anger, and places her arm around her shoulder. 

“Do you want a picture?” Umi suggests, taking out her phone. 

“Yes!!” Nozomi squeals and pulls Eli closer to her.

“Wait!” She takes the paper bag that is on her other hand, and passes the two other hooded towels that she purchased to Kotori and Umi. 

“We got these for you too!” 

“Mou, Nozomi-chan, you shouldn’t have!” Umi answers, as she looks at the packaging. 

“Arigato Nozomi-chan!!!! Umi-chan, we’ll be matching!” Kotori cheers as she quickly unwraps the packaging and putting the hooded towel on. 

Umi’s face goes bright red, a little reluctant to put that towel on. 

“It’s fine!!!! It’s embarrassing!” Umi waves her hands profusely as Kotori unwraps Umi’s packaging and attempts to put it over her head. 

“Umi-chan!!! All of us have it already! It’s not complete unless you wear it!” Kotori pouts and holds up the towel in front of an embarrassed Umi.

“Wear it! We’ll make a good picture!” Nozomi chimes in, supporting Kotori’s decision to make Umi wear the hooded towel. 

If Nozomi could make Eli do something like that, Kotori can mostly definitely do it too. Besides… She has her onegai powers.

“Umi-chan! Onegai!!!” Kotori pleads, with the most coercing puppy eyes she can muster. 

Umi, getting trapped in the vortex of Kotori’s irresistible pout and K.O onegai tactics, eventually sighs, and takes the hooded towel from the ash-brown haired girl, and puts it over her head.

“Fine.. Let’s hurry up and take this picture.” Umi holds up her phone, and frames up the four of them to take a hooded cartoon towel selfie.

Eventually, much to Eli’s dismay, the hooded towel didn’t do much to cover the dampness from the big splash towards the end, since the towel only stops at the midriff. 

The fact that most of the crotch area got hit by the water also tempts Nozomi to send more ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) texts to Eli. 

The four girls then finishes off their day at Disneyland with the Big Thunder Mountain at Westernland, and even though the roller coaster is now outdoors instead of the dark, Eli’s piercing screams stands out the most.

* * *

“I’m so tired! But it was a really fun day!” Kotori pipes up, as she walks with the rest of the girls to exit the theme park.

“Yeah, it was the most fun I had so far.” Umi agrees with a bright smile. 

“Thank you for the tickets, Eli-chan! And Nozomi-chan, for the towels!” Kotori winks. 

“I still think we should pay you back for the towels though.” Umi mentions in a concerned manner.

“Mou, it’s okay! It’s on me this time! The most important thing is that everyone is happy!” Nozomi answers with a genuine smile, and this makes Eli smile too.

“Yeah, and I’m glad you two are finally addressing us informally now!” Eli says. 

“Hehe, you two are the best senpai’s ever!” Kotori grins.

“Hey!” Eli winks and her brows creases to form a pretend annoyed expression. “What did I just say about addressing us informally?” 

“Oh, I mean you two are the best older friends ever!” Kotori changes her words, giving a bashful smile. 

“That’s more like it.” Eli smiles. 

Nozomi looks back at Eli, and her smile that is hard to notice on the first day that she met her. It is an incredible sight to see Eli warming up to her juniors, and letting them in to expand her social circle more. Helping Kotori and Umi discover their feelings towards each other is one thing, but seeing Eli so happy around her friends is another thing that makes her heart flutter.

“We’ll see you back in school on Monday then!” Umi waves at the two older girls, and they wave back. 

“Thank you again for today!” Kotori calls out. 

Nozomi and Eli stand beside each other for a bit, watching as Kotori and Umi walk in front of them as they go back their own way. Before they walk out of sight, Nozomi sees Kotori holding out her hand to the blue-haired girl beside her, and although it takes a while for Umi to reciprocate the action, Umi eventually clasps her hands around Kotori and they walk off together.

Nozomi takes out her phone, and Eli sighs deeply. 

“I know what you’re going to type, Nozomi.” Eli says. 

“Eh, do you?” Nozomi answers, smiling to herself.

“Yeah, that stupid emoticon….” Eli breathes out. 

“You know me so well huh?” Nozomi says in content. 

“Yeah, I do, actually.” 

Despite the fact that Eli knows what Nozomi is sending her, she still takes out her phone and sees the message that she sent. 

When she sees it, a part of her is unable to summon her voice. She blinks once, twice, and the message remains the same. She feels her lips quivering, as she holds on to the phone tightly. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.14PM): I love you, Elicchi. 


	12. Chapter 12

12\. If you like me,

Waking up this morning is surprisingly easy for Eli. In fact, it feels rather satisfying to awaken from her sleep. As she sits up in her bed, basking in the brilliance and warm glow of the Sunday morning sun, it feels all too surreal - to be waking up and be in such a pleasant mood. Maybe she’s still in a dream. Maybe the Disneyland date yesterday was just a dream as well. 

Frantic, Eli quickly reaches over to her phone by her bedside, and unlocks it to open up the chat message window between her and Nozomi. She scrolls past a few texts, and she grins widely when she sees that the fluttery text from last evening is still there.

_Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.14PM): I love you, Elicchi._

It is real after all. The day before, the disneyland double date, Nozomi returning Eli’s confession, sharing a kiss with her…. It’s all real. Then again, now that both of them know that they love each other, what happens now? Does this mean they are dating? Do they call each other girlfriends? A soft sigh escapes Eli’s mouth. Love and its many stages are indeed baffling. 

Trying not to think too much about it, Eli looks back at her phone, and starts typing out her first text to Nozomi for the day. 

Ayase Eli (9.47AM): Good morning, Nozomi. 

Eli looks back at her message, and her gaze lingers at the three words that she typed out. It has never struck her before how formal her texts has always been. It’s her habit, but now that Nozomi has such a bond with her, it’s a little weird to be acting so formal in her texts. A blush forms on her face as she contemplates sending a heart emoticon, but before she can do so, a reply comes in quickly. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.48AM): ohayo, elicchi!! (´∀｀)♡ 

And of course, Nozomi beats Eli to the heart. Nevertheless to say, there is no denying of the amount of blood that is rushing to Eli’s face, and the thumping of her heart when she sees that new emoticon from Nozomi.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.48AM): what are u up to today? 

Ayase Eli (9.48AM): I have nothing much planned out for the day today :) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.49AM): me too 

_Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b is sending a photo…_

For the first time between them, Nozomi sends a photo, and after Eli downloads it, she spaces out on it for a solid 5 seconds because Nozomi has just sent her a selfie of herself. 

Nozomi’s purple hair flows down effortlessly, her cheeks rosy and turquoise eyes gleaming as usual. It is hard to tell that she has just woken up from bed just like Eli. Eli admires the photo a little longer, until she finally saves the photo into her camera roll and smiles bashfully at the thought of the breathtaking purple-haired girl who she loves a lot.

Ayase Eli (9.50AM): You’re very pretty. I mean, you always are, but wow, you really look nice here. 

After sending that, Eli takes a moment to bury her face in her hands. She never thought that there would be a day where these cheesy words would come out of her mouth, or in this case, her texts. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.51AM): ehehe, elicchi is so sweet. are u not sending one back? ( ≧Д≦)

Ayase Eli (9.51 AM): No!! You already seen my face in the morning, so there’s no need to!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.52AM): but i miss ur face :( 

Ayase Eli (9.52 AM): It’s not going to work on me, Nozomi! :) 

Trying to steer the conversation so as to avoid Nozomi’s request of a selfie back from her, Eli quickly types another text. 

Ayase Eli (9.52 AM): Do you want to maybe go out together today? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.53AM): ooooh, yes yes! what do u wanna do? (≧Д≦) 

Before Eli can reply however, she hears a knock on the door of her bedroom, and her younger sister walks in, holding a book close to her chest. Eli makes a silent prayer, hoping it is not her sister asking for help with her homework and possibly ruining her impromptu plans with Nozomi for the day. 

“You’re early today, Alisa. What is it?” Eli asks in her usual sisterly tone. 

The younger Ayase plops down on the empty space beside Eli, and looks back at Eli with her matching glistening light blue eyes. She holds out the textbook with english words on her hand.

“Onee-chan, will you help me with my english homework today?” 

Eli bites on her lower lip, and her eyes narrow at the damned english textbook while her face tenses up. 

“Mou Alisa, why didn’t you ask me on Friday night? Then you won’t have to worry about any work today.” Eli lectures slightly. 

Alisa pouts and hugs her book as support. 

“I’m sorry, I was at Yukiho’s house that day.” 

Unable to actually keep up the stern act with her adorable younger sister, Eli eventually puts her hand on the top of Alisa’s head and rubs it with affection. 

“It’s fine, I’ll teach you. Just give me a minute.” 

Eli gets out of her bed and reaches into her bag for the english textbook that she uses for her own class. She sees a paper sticking out, and pulls it out further, revealing the paper to be the totoro-stylized paper where Nozomi had written down the english notes for her during her first day of school. She smiles a little at the memory, remembering Nozomi’s little animated actions when she explained the english grammar to her.

Eli then goes back to her phone, and with a heavy sigh, she starts typing. 

Ayase Eli (9.57 AM): I’m sorry, Nozomi. I have last minute sisterly chores to do. I’m very sorry :( 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.58AM): ooo lemme guess…. you have to teach her her work as your repayment for the disneyland tickets ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Ayase Eli (9.58 AM): What’s with that face seriously! And yeah, I have to teach her english.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.59AM):( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

At the same time, the message screen disappears as an incoming phone call from Nozomi replaces the screen.

Eli gulps as she sees the call, realising that this is the first time she is going to talk to Nozomi on the phone. She feels her heart rate increase, and waits for at least three more rings till she finally answers the call. 

“Moshi moshi? Nozomi?” Eli speaks first, her voice crackling a little from being so nervous. 

“Ohayo, Elicchi! You sound very cute on the phone, heh heh.” 

A blush instantly creeps up the blonde’s face, and she chuckles nervously. A movement from the side gets her attention, and that’s when she notices that she’s not alone in the room. Alisa must be wondering why her older sister is blushing so crazily on the phone, and she quickly puts her hand to her cheek, pretending to rest on it when it is actually a not-so-subtle attempt to hide her blush. 

“Mou, Nozomi, why did you suddenly call me?” Eli projects her voice, trying to sound cool.

“Because then I’d get to know how cute you sound on the phone!” Nozomi chirps back cheerfully. 

“I’m sure that’s the second time you said that.” 

There is a short pause before Nozomi speaks up on the other end again. 

“Actually I was wondering if I could come over and teach Alisa-chan english too? I love english, hehe.” 

Eli tries to suppress her excited grin, but fails as her mouth quickly curls up to form a huge smile. 

“Mou, coming over because you love english? You’re such a nerd!” Eli teases, as the tips of her fingers brush through the english note that Nozomi had written for her. 

“Hmm… But I love Elicchi too.” Nozomi answers swiftly, leaving Eli completely speechless.

Eli still hasn’t gotten over the confession text last evening, and here is Nozomi telling her she loves her over the phone. This is all too much for her, yet there is no denying the giddiness she feels from being so happy hearing those words being reciprocated. 

“I lov—"

Alisa is still in the room, and Eli can’t say those out since the young blonde is still… Young and utterly clueless about the way the world works now. 

“Come over then.” Eli answers in english with a teasing tone to her voice. 

“Oooooh Elicchi is being so inviting with her english! I’ll be there in half an hour, hehe.”

“See you, Nozomi.” Eli reverts to speaking Japanese and she ends the call, exhaling in satisfaction. She quickly turns to the younger blonde beside her, who is still waiting patiently. 

“Say Alisa, do you mind if Nozomi onee-chan came over to teach you too?” 

It is more of a rhetorical question, because even if Alisa minded it, Eli will still find a way toget Nozomi over as an excuse to spend time with her. 

The younger blonde however, starts to clasp her hands excitedly and gives a toothy smile at the thought of Nozomi coming over and this is definitely a positive sign for Eli.

* * *

Nozomi scrolls past her messages with Eli, and pouts slightly because her attempts to make Eli send a picture of herself didn’t work. A grin curls up on her face, when she goes over to her macbook and looks at the picture of them in the photobooth. She picks out the nicest picture that she thought - which is a two-shot of them posing together, after Eli finally got the hang of using the feature. She smiles and sends the picture to her phone, and sets it as her wallpaper. Staring at the dorky and attractive blonde in the picture, the smile on her face remains. She loves Eli, she really does. And she can confirm that now, the feeling is only going to continue getting stronger.

Without hesitation, Nozomi prepares a fast snack - cutlet sandwiches, to bring over to Eli’s house as a polite gesture.

* * *

As soon as the doorbell rings, Eli bounds toward the door, excited to receive the person on the other side of it. However, a shorter figure beats her to it.

“Nozomi onee-chan!!!” Alisa yells out gleefully, and opens the door to see the purple-haired girl dressed casually behind it. 

“Mou, Alisa…” Eli drawls out, as she stands behind her sister and smiles upon seeing Nozomi’s arrival.

“Ahh! The two blonde Ayases opening the door for me! Kawaii!!” Nozomi coos, and lets herself in politely. 

“Hi there, Elicchi!” The purple-haired greets Eli with a delightful close-eyed smile.

“Hey Nozomi, you got here fast.” Eli replies with a matching smile. Her glance then lowers to see the cloth wrapped around a box in Nozomi’s hand. 

“What’s that?” 

Nozomi’s glance follows and she lets out an “ohh” before holding it up closer to Eli’s face. 

“I made some cutlet sandwiches for all of you to share!” 

“Oh, you shouldn’t have! That’s too nice of you!” A voice echoes from behind the three girls, and they turn to see Eli’s mother coming over to them with a wrinkled smile. 

“It’s okay, it was a pleasure doing so. Thank you for having me here!” Nozomi answers politely. 

“I heard you were going to teach Alisa her homework with Eli.” Her mother states.

“It’s nice to know someone is so proactive about this unlike my dear Elichika…” Her mother shoots her a glare, although mostly playful. 

“Mou, oka-san! It’s not like I was unwilling to!” Eli huffs, and the older blonde giggles in return. 

“Hai, hai, I’m just joking. Hurry up and finish your work girls.”

Nozomi lets out a giggle as she takes in the sight of Eli and her mother with their playful conversation. She then grabs onto Alisa’s hand, bending slightly while doing so and leads her into Eli’s room, which she is quite familiarised with by now. 

“Let’s go Alisa-chan! Let’s leave grumpy Elicchi behind shall we?” Nozomi teases.

* * *

“Hai, so your homework is to write out a short paragraph describing two people you know in english.” Nozomi reads out the assignment brief, and places the paper back onto the table.

“Well that’s easy right, you can describe your onee-chan and I!” She exclaims delightfully, clapping her hands together. 

Alisa looks back at both girls in front of her, with a steady look in her eyes as she takes in the physical details of them. 

“Onee-chan has blonde hair and blue eyes like me, she is a great ballet dancer, she is very hardworking, and she gives the best hugs!” 

Upon hearing the simple yet sweet words coming out from her younger sister’s mouth, Eli gives a warm smile and pats Alisa’s head. 

“Alisa-chan is such a sweetheart isn’t she?” Nozomi mentions and tilts her head, resting it on her fist with her hand propped up on the table. 

She narrows her glance at the younger blonde and raises her brow. “But I know how you can make it even better, so that you can get a better grade too!” 

Nozomi stares back at Eli by her side, and sees that much of her side profile is being blocked by her blonde hair that is flowing down. Nozomi lifts up her free hand, and gently tucks a few strands of blonde hair behind Eli’s ear, and giggles as she sees a patch of red starting to form on Eli’s cheek.

“Alisa-chan, you might want to write it down in Japanese first, and then we can help translate this into english for you.” Nozomi instructs. 

Alisa nods and holds up her pencil, ready to write.

“Onee-chan has blonde hair. Bright like the sun, and beautiful like Rapunzel’s. Although her hair only stops at her waist. She has a mesmerising pair of eye that are blue like the pleasant sky. She is a hardworking person, and that is what makes her one of the most excellent ballet dancers I know. And also, my onee-chan wraps me and keeps me safe with her warm hugs!” As soon as Nozomi finishes her sentence, she can feel herself blushing too and hopes that Alisa doesn’t notice anything odd about how romantic this has become.

“Woah! Nozomi onee-chan, that was great!” Alisa answers in admiration, staring back at the words she had written which has been recited by Nozomi. 

“No… Nozomi.” Eli breathes out, transfixed by Nozomi’s description of her. 

“I will describe Nozomi onee-chan now!” Alisa chimes in enthusiastically and she flips her paper to the back side to continue writing. 

“Nozomi-onee chan is onee-chan’s best friend! Just like Yukiho and I. She has purple hair though, like an eggplant-“

Before Alisa can continue, a huge snort comes out from Nozomi as it finally escalates into fits of laughter. 

“Mou, what’s with the Ayase sisters and eggplants!” She rubs at the corners of her eyes where tears have formed from laughing, recounting the time where Eli has called Nozomi an eggplant because of her hair too.

“Tell me, what other stuff are purple?” Eli questions, in an attempt to challenge Nozomi for laughing at her. 

“I don’t know, grapes?” Nozomi answers, still half-laughing.

Defeated, Eli looks over to her younger sister, who is bearing a semi-confused look on her face. 

“Why didn’t we think of grapes, Alisa?” 

“I think it’s because Nozomi onee-chan has green eyes, so it looks like the head of the eggplant.” Alisa says, observing Nozomi closely.

As soon as she hears that, her eyes light up and she proceeds to hug her sister excitedly. 

“Right? That’s what I said before too!” 

At the moment, Nozomi forgets all about the colour purple, or the mention of eggplants because all she can do right now is to admire the blonde and her adorable interactions with Alisa. 

* * *

“Ahh we’re done!” Nozomi pipes up happily as she raises her hand to high five Alisa. However, instead of receiving a high-five back, the young blonde throws herself into Nozomi, hugging her tightly.

“Mou, Alisa! Be careful!” Eli reprimands, and at the same time shoots an apologetic look to Nozomi for her sister’s actions.

Nozomi giggles and pats her mass of blonde hair, hugging her back. “Wow Alisa-cchi, you actually give better hugs than your onee-chan!” 

Looking back at the two girls, Eli can’t tell if she’s jealous or actually happy that her own sister is getting along so well with her crush. 

Nozomi peeks at Eli with the corner of her eye, and stretches out her hand more towards the blonde. 

“Come here! There’s still space! Hugs for helping Alisa-chan to finish her homework!” The purple-haired exclaims. 

Eli lets out a playful ‘hmph’ before going over to squeeze into the circle, feeling Nozomi’s arms wrapping around her and her sister. A warm feeling overcomes her body, and she wants nothing more than to stay like this - of course it would be better if Alisa stepped out for a bit and let Eli have her all to herself, but at a time like this, she feels contented enough.

Just then, there is a knock on the door and Eli’s mother steps in. 

“This is so cute, you girls!” She stands by the door, looking at her two daughters and their friend in an embrace. 

Alisa wriggles out of Nozomi’s grasp and goes over to her mother. 

“Oka-san! I finished my homework! The two of them taught me.” She relays with a proud smile. 

“Hai, hai, good work girls.”

She peers closer to the wall clock in Eli’s room, and the corners of her mouth turn up to form a light smile.

“I think all of you deserve some ice cream.” 

She reaches into the pocket of her shorts and takes out a few dollar notes, handing it to her younger daughter. 

“Alisa, take onee-chan and her friend out for some ice cream as an appreciation of their hard work to teach you.” 

Alisa nods eagerly, and holds up the money in her hand to the two girls. 

“Onee-chan, Nozomi onee-chan, let’s go!!” 

Nozomi and Eli look back at each other, and they smile in mutual agreement.

* * *

 After walking and passing by a few shops along the streets in Akihabara, Alisa stops at a small beige-coloured building, and pushes open the door to an ice cream parlour. 

“Yukiho and I would always come here whenever we are craving for ice cream after school.” Alisa explains to the two older girls. Little did she know, as she walks in more to the place, she sees that Yukiho is actually there with Honoka, sitting at one corner of the parlour.

“Yukiho!!!!” She rushes over to the red-haired girl, who is almost done with the ice cream in her cup.

Noticing the familiar faces who entered, Honoka stands up from her sit and waves to Nozomi and Eli. 

“Yooooooo Nozomi-chan, Eli-chan!”

“Ahh Honoka-chan, Alisa-chan brought us here at the perfect timing!” Nozomi exclaims, acknowledging the sprightly ginger-haired first year. 

“Yeah, it’s such a coincidence indeed.” Eli agrees with a smile. She sees the extra seats near Honoka’s table and asks, “Don't mind if we sit with you?” 

“Of course!!” Honoka answers excitedly and shift her chair to make more space for the two girls and Alisa to sit together.

“I’m going to get another scoop!” Yukiho announces, and Alisa follows her to get her own scoop of ice cream as well, leaving Honoka, Nozomi and Eli alone. 

“Ah!! You two went to Disneyland with Kotori and Umi yesterday right!” Honoka pouts and shows off an envious look on her face.

“I’m so jealous! But then again I have extra idol practice at Nico’s house so I wouldn’t be free too.” 

Eli gives a knowing look, considering Honoka’s words.

“Say, Honoka. You and Nico have been pretty serious about this whole idol thing, even if it’s just the two of you.”

“Yeah! We are planning to get more exposure and not stop right there! Everyone seems supportive of us too!” Honoka explains eagerly. 

“Hmm, that’s really cool. I mean, your performance during the cultural festival was really hyped up as well so it helps boost the popularity of the school.” Eli says. 

“In that case, should we let them make it official and start an idol club then? Wouldn’t it be easier?” Nozomi asks, her question directing to the student council president. 

“I know, plus you would get some budget and extra resources so you can further promote your idol activities too.” Eli nods her head in agreement. 

“Really? Nico-chan is going to be so happy!!!” Honoka hops on her seat in excitement. 

Eli flashes the first year a quick smile. “Nozomi and I will settle the paper work and get it approved by Principal Minami tomorrow.” 

Honoka pumps up her fist in the air, and cheers delightfully. 

At the same time, Yukiho and Alisa returns to their table, each with an ice cream cup in their hand. 

“It’s our turn to go now!” Nozomi gets up, and Eli follows. 

* * *

“Neh, Nozomi, guess what flavour of ice cream I’m going to get.” Eli states, as the two of them scan past the different ice cream flavours from the glass panel of the ice cream dipping cabinet.

“Mou Elicchi, isn’t it obvious, it’s going to be chocolate for sure.” Nozomi answers in an amused manner.

Eli shakes her head, and gives off a sly grin.

“I’m not going to be so predictable today, Nozomi! If you guess it right, I’ll treat you to another scoop of ice cream. If you guess it wrongly, you’ll have to give me a hug!” 

Nozomi’s eye grow to about twice the original size, surprised by Eli’s sudden forwardness. 

“Wow, Elicchi is so snarky… Let’s do this then!” Nozomi winks, going back to look at the different ice cream flavours. 

She decides between mint chocolate chip and pralines & cream, since those two are the closest to a normal chocolate flavoured ice cream. She eventually settles for mint chocolate chip, and returns to Eli with a confident look on her face.

“I say Elicchi is getting the mint chocolate chip ice cream!”

Eli looks back at Nozomi, her icy blue eyes gleaming, and this gives Nozomi a positive sign. 

“I’m right, aren’t I? Im getting another free scoop of ice cream from Elicchi!!!!” The student council vice-president chants happily and sticks out her tongue at the blonde. 

Eli starts to spread her arms, and smirks widely. Upon seeing this action, Nozomi realises she has actually guessed the flavour wrong. 

“Wrong! I am going to get strawberries and cream!” Eli laughs and continues holding up her arms in a position ready to receive a hug.

“Mou….. Really??? Strawberry is the last flavour I thought you’d ever go for.” Nozomi drawls out in defeat, and steps forward, slowly closing the gap between her and Eli. 

Eli watches as Nozomi slowly leans into her, and her outstretched hands shiver a little from the nervousness she feels from her bold tactic to finally get her own hug with Nozomi without Alisa in it.

However, she feels soft lips brush against her cheek instead, and when Nozomi pulls back, Eli can feel her cheek heat up, especially in the place where Nozomi’s lips has just left. She got a kiss on the cheek instead of a hug, and she loses herself in this moment, overwhelmed by Nozomi’s affection. 

It takes a few seconds for Eli to snap out of her trance, and that is when she realises - she’s not alone. They’re not alone. They’re in a public place. Eli whips her head to where the worker is at, and thankfully he is scooping up ice cream for a customer in front of them. She then glazes over to where Honoka and the younger girls are, and they seem to be immersed in a conversation of their own. Seeing that the intimate action hasn’t been witnessed upon, Eli heaves a sigh of relief.

“Afraid someone saw?” Nozomi smirks, and Eli feigns a cross look at Nozomi’s risky actions. 

“Of course! This isn’t a dark place like the ride in Disneyland yesterday you know!” Eli whispers in a hushed tone. 

Nozomi simply giggles, and places a reassuring hand on Eli’s shoulder.

“Relax, Elicchi. I am quite aware of my surroundings, you know. Besides-“

She goes close to Eli’s ear and breathes out, “I’m sure your reward was more than satisfactory.” 

Eli feels goosebumps on her arms, and quickly gulps to hide her slight gay panic.

“Alright! Let’s get our ice cream now!” Nozomi skips to where the worker is, ready to order her ice cream.

“Can I have a scoop of chocolate ice cream for myself and another strawberries and cream for the blondie there?” Nozomi calls out. 

Eli joins Nozomi, and nudges her. 

“You’re the one that’s having chocolate now huh.” 

Nozomi winks and places an arm around Eli’s waist, taking advantage of this to bring her closer to her.

“Chocolate isn’t usually my go-to flavour, but I like the girl whose favourite flavour is chocolate.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I think I made Alisa act younger and more childish than she usually is in the anime, I hope that's ok!! ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! But here we go! Enjoy! ( ´ ▽ ` )b

13\. Then say you like me.

 

With a steady grip on her pen, Nozomi leaves her signature just above Eli’s signature. She smiles in content and places the pen back onto the table. 

“It feels great to officially be doing something for the student council!” Nozomi says with a crinkle to her eyes as she smiles. 

“And now it’s time to make someone happy as part of the student council!” Eli winks and takes the School Idol club form that was recently approved by Principal Minami, leaving the student council room with Nozomi. 

The past week, Nozomi and Eli have been meeting with the Principal to discuss about the setting up of a new after school activity in favour of the passionate idol-crazed students, Honoka and Nico. Although Eli has had her own reservations about only two people being in a newly formed club, she eventually thought of how their idol performance during the culture festival has attracted many students, even middle school students who came to visit, creating more buzz for future students to join the school. 

Once they reach their classroom, they see that the black twin-tailed girl is already in her seat.

With a cheeky grin, Nozomi beats Eli to reach Nico’s seat, and holds the black-haired girl’s shoulders from her back, getting her attention.

“Ahh Nicocchi!! So early today?” Nozomi says cheerfully. 

The smaller girl turns to Nozomi, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance although Nozomi knows that she doesn’t mean it at all. 

“Eh? What is it?” 

“Mou….” Nozomi drawls out, pouting her lips slightly. “You need to stop being so annoyed with me… I have something great for you, you know….” 

“What good thing could you possibly have for me?” Nico snaps back, clearly unfazed by Nozomi’s persistence. 

“This.” A voice calls out just as she starts to approach nearer. 

“What…?” Nico squints to have a closer look on the paper on Eli’s hand as she moves closer. 

“School idol club appli…” 

“WAIT!” Before Nico can finish reading the whole line of words, she immediately grasps whatis being presented to her, and takes the whole paper out from Eli’s hands. 

“Is this for real?!!” Nico raises her voice, attracting some attention from the students around her. 

“Those are Nicocchi and Honoka's names below this form, are they not?” Nozomi says, her hand underlining Nico and Honoka’s printed names in the form. 

Nico remains silent, although her face harbours a rather ecstatic expression. 

“We’ll leave it to you to sign your name here, and once you’re done please get Honoka to sign it too and pass the form back to us to officiate the club.” Eli explains.

Noticing that Nico is still rather speechless as she keeps a firm grasp on the form, almost crumpling it, Nozomi and Eli give a mutual side eye to return to their seats and allow the black-haired third year to bask in her silent excitement. 

“Wait!” Nico suddenly speaks up, stopping Nozomi and Eli in their tracks. 

“Come and see us at the rooftop during our break. That’s where Honoka and I always go to whenever we feel like practising our idol routine. And…”

Nico lowers her head, showing her first signs of shyness, which causes a shy grin to form on Nozomi’s face. 

“I will pass you the completed and signed form later too.” 

“We’ll be glad to.” Eli smiles widely, her eyes almost closing completely. 

As they continue to walk back to their seats, Eli nudges Nozomi and the purple-haired girl giggles, proud of their attempt to make Nico get the tsundere out of her system - even if its temporary. 

* * *

As soon as the class are dismissed for their lunch break, Nico is the first to get out of class, along with her bento that is wrapped neatly in a blue cloth and the school idol club application form.

Nozomi turns around in her seat to see that Eli is also staring at Nico walking out of the class.

“Nico is quick isn’t she?” Eli states. 

“I’m glad we made her happy, hehe.” Nozomi answers in a pleasant tone. 

At the moment, Eli’s glance seems to be fixated on something behind Nozomi and she cranes her neck to the direction she is looking at. 

“What’s going on Elicchi?” Nozomi asks inquisitively. 

As soon as Eli starts to wave her hand, Nozomi turns back to her original position to see Kotori and Umi standing by their classroom door with their respective bentos in their hand. 

“Aw, that’s so cute, they came to see us!” Nozomi clasps her hands together as she gets out of her seat to get closer to the first years. Eli follows, not forgetting to take her lunchbox as well. 

“Ahh what are you two here for?” Nozomi pipes up. 

“Honoka chan told us to have lunch together at the rooftop today, and we thought of asking you two too! Kotori is the first to speak up, flashing an amicable smile. 

“We actually got invited by Nico too, so I guess we can all go together.” Eli joins in.

“Ah, sorry, I have to go to the toilet first. You all can go ahead!” Kotori exclaims.

“Don’t worry, we’ll wait here for you.” Eli answers reassuringly. 

“Sorry! I’ll be fast!”

As Kotori leaves the group to go to the washroom, Umi starts to chew on her lips and play with the ends of her skirt. 

“Nozomi, Eli.” Umi says in a hushed voice. 

The two second years widen their eyes at the same time, first glancing at each other, and then at their blue-haired junior. 

“What is it, Umi?” Eli answers first. 

“You see..” Umi begins, her face tightening in nervousness. 

“Kotori’s birthday is tomorrow, and I want to plan something for her..” She starts to look around cautiously, hoping Kotori isn’t in sight. 

“But it’s so last minute and I honestly don’t know what to do. I mean, Honoka and I usually celebrate her birthday together at a cafe or a restaurant, but now that Kotori and I….” 

Nozomi gives off a thoughtful look, and draws closer to the shy blue-haired girl, her smile playful and disarming. 

“Hmm, are you two dating yet?” 

Eli’s eyes widen in shock at Nozomi’s question and quickly swats her arms. 

“Mou, Nozomi! You shouldn’t ask that kind of question!!” 

“We.. We aren’t exactly. But I think Kotori does like me back after all.” A small smile creeps up on Umi’s face with an accompanying blush.

“Wow! Doesn’t Umi-chan look like a girl starting to fall in love from a shoujo manga right now!!” Nozomi teases. 

“Well, looks like we got another student council job waiting for us, student council vice president!” Eli nudges the girl beside her, getting her attention.

“Are we the student council or the relationship guru club?” Nozomi seems to ponder. 

“We are the student council, of course! But we can make exceptions for Umi over here.” 

Umi stares back at both her senpais, not catching on to their banter. She clears her throat slightly.

“Ano… So what’s going on…” Umi asks innocently. 

“Oh! Don’t worry Umi-chan, we will help you to plan a big romantic birthday surprise for Kotori-chan together!” Nozomi answers almost too excitedly, and Eli has to cover Nozomi’s mouth from being too loud. 

“Let’s meet up after school today, the three of us.” Eli instructs, just in time before Kotori starts to come back into sight. 

* * *

As soon as the four girls reach the rooftop of the school, they are surprised that despite it being unsheltered, the place is rather cooling and relaxing. To the corner, they see Nico and Honoka, well immersed in a dance routine together.

While making a turn, Honoka notices them approaching from the corner of her eyes, and stumbles a little as she halts her movement midway. 

“Mou, Honoka! Don’t stop that way, it’s dangerous!” Eli hollers as she starts to speed up towards Nico and Honoka. 

Honoka rubs her head with a cheeky grin. “Hehehe, it’s okay! I’m just very happy!!!!” 

“I take it that Honoka-chan has already signed the idol club application form?” Nozomi questions. 

“Yes!!!!” The overly excited ginger-haired girl fist pumps the air. 

“As soon as Nico-chan gave me the form, I immediately signed it! I can’t believe we’re in an official idol club in school now!” 

Nico looks on at Honk’s excitement with her hands in her hips. She looks as if she couldn’t be bothered, but Nozomi and Eli both know that she is the most excited among herself and Honoka. 

“I’m happy for you Honoka-chan!” Kotori chimes in with a sweet smile.

Seeing her two childhood friends, Honoka pouts a little and forces herself in between them.

“It would be so much better if you two joined though!! How fun would it be to be in a club together!” 

“I told you, I’m not interested in any of this!” Umi chides lightly as Kotori giggles softly at Umi’s reluctance. 

“Hmph!!! Umi-chan is such a meanie!” Honoka huffs playfully. She then turns to Nico beside her, and puts an arm around her.

“Well I guess it takes two to tango, and it will just be the two of us in the idol club!!!” 

Nico wriggles out of her grasp immediately, keeping her arms on her hips. 

“No one’s going to tango with you, Honkers! Be more serious now that we are in a club!” Nico lectures. 

“Nico-chan is a meanie too!” Honoka pouts. 

“Well, let’s not waste time and have our lunch first shall we? It’s such a pleasant weather up here!” Nozomi speaks up, bringing back the calmness in the whole conversation. 

“Oh wait, before we do, I have to tell you something Honoka.” Eli adds on, bringing Honoka to an area with more space.

“When you’re doing a turn, make sure you focus on one area, and not look all around. Otherwise you’re going to fall like you did just now and get dizzy.” 

Honoka nods her head, and starts to focus on a classroom within her view. She gets into position for a turn, and swiftly turns, remembering to snap her head back to the same view she spotted just now. 

Amazed by the way she turned, her eyes widen in excitement and claps to herself.

“Sugoi!!!! Thank you so much Eli-chan!!” 

Needless to say, Nozomi witnesses everything and a grin tugs at her lips as she sees how the blonde is actually still so attached to ballet, which makes it a rather adorable sight.

* * *

"I didn’t know there was such a place amidst the city of Akihabara!” Eli comments, as she walks past the entrance of Umi’s house. Her house, unlike the typical modern apartments in the city right now, remains to be a traditional Japanese house, with various wooden verandas surrounding the structure. 

“Yeah.” Umi flashes a quick smile. “My parents are heavily involved with traditional Japanese hobbies, and we have a dojo here.” 

After school, Umi invites Nozomi and Eli to her house to discuss about her birthday plans for Kotori, and it is a great timing without it being suspicious as well since Kotori had a shift at the maid cafe at the same time.

Umi pushes open the door, and calls out “tadaima”, although she realises her parents aren’t home yet. 

* * *

Nozomi and Eli take a quick 360 degree take of Umi’s room, with surprised glances on their faces. Although the outside of the house looks traditional and reserved, Umi’s room resembles a normal high school girl’s room, with pastel light blue walls and paintings hung around. Umi seems rather studious, with various books lining her bookshelves. However, the thing that makes Nozomi smile is the pictures of Umi with Kotori and Honoka framed up and placed on her study table.

“Umi-chan actually likes to keep memories of her and her friends huh?” Nozomi leans close to Umi, and she backs away in embarrassment, cowering over to the photo frames to keep them from Nozomi’s view. 

“M-m-make yourselves at home! I’ll get us some tea.” Umi stutters slightly while going out of her room, still being embarrassed from Nozomi’s teasing earlier on. 

Nozomi and Eli sits down in front of the coffee table as they await Umi’s arrival with their tea. 

“Neh, Elicchi, having friends is such a nice thing isn’t it.” Nozomi sighs in content, looking back at the photo frames where Kotori, Honoka and Umi are posing together in their middle school uniforms. 

Eli slides her hand to Nozomi’s under the table, and squeezes it lightly. 

“It is indeed, Nozomi.” 

She lets her hand linger there for a while, feeling the tenderness and warmness of Nozomi’s hand. She is about to curl her fingers and interlock them with hers, until a movement at the door stops her movement and she removes her hand, a blush forming on her face.

“Sorry for the wait!” Umi calls out, and kneels down as she pours the tea from the teapot into the three mugs.

“Thank you Umi-chan!” Nozomi says, her heart still beating rapidly from Eli’s action earlier on. 

Eli then starts to take out a piece of paper from her school bag and places it on the table before them.

“Umi, what are Kotori’s favourite things?” She starts to ask, holding on to a pen that she taken out as well. 

The blue-haired girl seems to look up in thought, as she cups her hands to the warm mug.

“Hmm.. I know that Kotori really likes the alpacas in our school.” 

Upon hearing that, Eli forms a crooked smile, recalling the time in her first year when she visited the alpacas in her school, and they decided to be extra friendly to her by spitting at her. 

“Eh? is anything wrong?” Umi asks, tilting her head in response to Eli’s reaction.

“N-n-nothing!!!!” Eli giggles lightly, trying to make light of the whole situation..

“Could Elicchi be scared of them?” Nozomi eases closer to the blonde beside her, shoulders touching. 

“No I am not! Anyway, what I am saying is that perhaps you could get Kotori an alpaca soft toy?” 

“I could, but where do they sell it?” Umi replies. 

“Oh! I know the UFO catcher at the arcade in town has it!” Nozomi responds eagerly. 

Eli quickly scribbles down _1\. Alpaca - UFO Catcher_ onto the blank piece of paper, and looks back up for more ideas forming.

“I think it would also be cute if Umi-chan could be a maid for once!” Nozomi pipes up.

Umi’s amber eyes seem to flash and dart around quickly, as if being trapped. Every twitch on her face can be seen, and Nozomi laughs at Umi’s horror. 

Eli seems to have no qualms, but she worries that this might be all too much for Umi.

“I’m serious, Umi-chan. The best way to surprise Kotori would be to have a role reversal! Besides, I think the idea of a kawaii maid Umi-chan would attract her a lot.” Nozomi winks.

By her side, Eli hastily writes down the next idea on the piece of paper.

_1\. Alpaca - UFO Catcher_

_2\. Umi - Maid in the Maid cafe (?)_

“I can’t do it! It’s too embarrassing!” Umi cries out, squirming anxiously in her position.

“Think about it, it’s innocent, and fun at the same time! Kotori is going to be so happy to be the one being served on her birthday!” Nozomi presses, hoping that Umi would agree to her idea.

“Well, I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea. Plus, you can give her the alpaca while being dressed in the maid costume. It’s the things she loves!” Eli adds on, supporting Nozomi’s idea. 

“But.. I’m not even a worker there, how am I supposed to do it?” Umi protests. 

“I think the maid cafe would always be willing to make exceptions for their Minalinsky-san!” Nozomi attests. 

“I really can’t see myself doing this….” Umi sighs, at the prospect of her donning a maid costume.

“Come on, Umi. You do want to surprise Kotori right?” Eli encourages. 

Umi grits her teeth with fearful eyes, afraid of the choice she is about to make. 

“MOU!!! FINE I’LL DO IT!” She cries out eventually, getting Nozomi and Eli to cheer for her. 

“Let’s not waste any time then!” Eli exclaims, as she gulps the rest of the tea down, and packs the paper into her bag. 

* * *

“I don’t know if I can do this… I don’t come to the arcade often..” Umi exhales, as she looks at the machine displaying many different soft toys, as well as the alpaca that she intends to win for Kotori.

“Love will find its way!” Nozomi pipes up, taking Umi’s coin from her hand and putting it into the coin slot to activate the game. 

“Come on, Umi. You can do this!” Eli cheers by the side. 

Inhaling deeply, Umi places her trembling hands onto the pink shiny joystick, and moves it above the beige-coloured alpaca which has the same kind of green bow over its head just like how Kotori does. 

“Pick it up!” Nozomi says, and Umi does so, closing her eyes as soon as the claw makes contact with the alpaca. 

As the alpaca is being lifted up, Eli sees the familiar grey and white furry looking animal toy stuffed right inside the machine, and it appears to be a totoro soft toy. She gulps as she remembers her failed attempts during the culture festival to get the totoro soft toy in a ring toss game for Nozomi. 

The three girls hold their breath in unison as the alpaca soft toy suspends in the air with the influence of the claw, but as soon as it almost reaches the drop out area, the grip loosens and the alpaca falls back into the machine with the other toys in it. 

“Well, it can’t be that easy for a first try. Do it again!” Eli says to an already defeated looking Umi.

“I guess so… You two should go play something else while I try to win this.” Umi smiles weakly.

“Ooh, could it be that Umi is only motivated when she’s alone?” Nozomi answers teasingly. 

“I just don’t want you two to be bored.” Umi replies, as she quickly takes out another coin to insert into the coin slot. 

“Okay then! Why don’t we go play that air hockey game over there!” Nozomi suggests, to which Eli can only groan playfully but eventually follow her to it. 

* * *

“GET READY FOR MY RUSSIAN ROULETTE ATTACK!” Eli exclaims, bursting with energy as she sends the red air hockey disc across the table.

“NO WAY! MAKE WAY FOR MY NOZOMI SPIRITUAL POWA YA NE!” Nozomi shouts back, hitting the disc back to Eli’s side. 

The two’s enthusiasm in the game is set to a high bar, even getting the attention of the other people who are playing in the arcade. Although at the moment, Eli is the one who is leading with 4-3. 

“Ano…” A voice interrupts their wildly immersive game of air hockey. 

“Eh, Umi-chan?” Eli stops her game to answer Umi who has come to them.

Using Eli’s distraction as an advantage, Nozomi quickly hits her disc into Eli’s available slot, and the clanking sound of the disc entering it sets the score as a tie, 4-4. It is just nice that the game ended at the same time. 

“Mou! Nozomi! You cheater!” Eli whirls her head back, noticing Nozomi’s cheap trick.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Umi lowers her head, realising her appearance has made Eli lose the game. 

“It’s okay! I’m not mad about that at all!” Eli’s hands does a motion that looks like she’s patting the air as she reassures the blue-haired girl. 

“So, did you win the alpaca?” Nozomi asks as she walks over to join Eli and Umi.

“Well…” Umi takes out the alpaca from behind her back and presents it to her two seniors with one hand. 

“I guess I did.” She beams in pride, although she still looks little shy, but Nozomi thought she looked really adorable. 

“That’s great isn’t it?” Nozomi cheers, and Eli looks on happily as well. 

“But actually…” Umi continues in a serious tone. She pauses for a while, and the two girls notices that Umi still has one hand behind her back. 

“I got another one as well.” 

Umi then takes out her other hand that she had behind her back, and shows the other alpaca which is light pink in colour to them.

“No way! You won two alpacas?” Eli widens her eye in amazement. 

“Yeah, the two of them dropped out at the same time actually.” Umi smiles, the two alpaca soft toys in her grasp. 

“I told you love will find its way!” Nozomi winks at a very bashful yet proud Umi.

* * *

After that, the three of them make their way to the “Lovely Akiba Maid Cafe”, and Umi confirms that Kotori has ended their work, so that she won’t be there for sure when they discuss with the staff from the maid cafe about the birthday plans.

“Good afternoon! A party of three?” A maid with medium length brown hair greets them, but Eli shakes her head politely and takes the girl to the side along with Nozomi and Umi.

“Actually we’re here because of Minalinsky-san.” Eli explains.

The maid’s mouth forms into an “O” and she begins to speak up, “I’m sorry, but Minalinsky-san has just ended her shift today.” 

“It’s alright, because we actually wanted to throw her a birthday surprise here tomorrow.” Eli continues. 

“Her birthday surprise?” The maid answers thoughtfully.

“Please give me a moment.” She bows politely and goes over to the side of the wall of the kitchen where a calendar is being hung. She scans past the dates on the calendar and there appears to be a note on it. Smiling to herself, she walks back to where the three girls are and bows again. 

“Yes, it appears that it’s her birthday tomorrow. Usually the staff will celebrate with her if she has a shift tomorrow, but unfortunately she doesn’t have one.” 

Umi steps up in front of Nozomi and Eli, and inhales deeply, letting out a huge sigh as she exhales. 

“Actually, I would like to pretend to be a maid here tomorrow, and my friends are going to bring Kotori over and we’ll all celebrate for her.” 

Upon saying that, Umi doesn’t realise how hot her cheeks are, and she lets out a scared whimper. She shakes her head profusely and starts to speak again, “Actually forget I said th-“

“Sure, we can do that for you. I’ll get you one of our maid costumes in your size for tomorrow!” The maid responds enthusiastically, taking Umi aback. 

“Ar-ar-are you sure?” Umi stutters almost uncontrollably. 

“Yes! I think it’s a great way to celebrate Akiba’s legendary maid's birthday!” The maid exclaims happily, breaking her whole maid character and acting just like a normal teenager. 

“Thank you… I guess!” Umi chokes out, and Nozomi and Eli giggle at the sight of the anxious Umi who just wants to plan the perfect birthday surprise for her crush.

* * *

The next day, Nozomi and Eli quickly finishes all their job in the student council early in the morning before classes, so that they wouldn’t have to stay back after school to do so, and immediately go ahead with the birthday surprise plans.

Besides Umi’s own plan to be a maid for the day, they have also involved Honoka in getting her and her family to bake a cake for Kotori, of which it will be presented to her too in the maid cafe. They also asked Nico along, seeing that the black-haired idol crazed girl has been interacting with them more recently. It is amazing how they actually managed to plan it all in less then a day.

Classes went by smoothly enough, and as soon as the last bell signalled the end of the last class for the day, Nozomi and Eli rush out of their class to meet up at the first years classroom, with Nico following behind.

The first thing that they see once they reach the first years classroom is a dejectedly-strickenKotori, sitting at her table with Honoka standing by her side. 

“I guess this is the part where she gets upset because Umi lied to her about not being free to celebrate her birthday!” Nozomi whispers in a hushed voice to Eli and Nico, knowing that Umi is already on her way to the maid cafe to be in her position.

The three second years go into the classroom to meet up with Kotori and Honoka. 

“Why are you so sad, Kotori-chan?” Nozomi asks. 

Kotori looks back at the purple-haired with sad puppy dog eyes, a sight that is rare from the ever-cheerful Minami Kotori.

“We were supposed to celebrate my birthday together today, but Umi-chan had a sudden important archery event to go to.” Kotori says almost tearfully. 

“I’m sure Umi-chan will find other ways to celebrate with you!” Honoka lets out a word of assurance, although deep down she is giggling at the thought of the birthday surprise plan.

“Well, if you would like, we can celebrate your birthday with you!” Nozomi chirps happily, quickly extending out the blindfold in her hand and putting it over Kotori’s eyes with the help of Honoka.

“Eh, what? What’s happening!!!!” Kotori whimpers, but no one says a word as they guide her out of her seat and finally, out of the classroom. 

It is quite a sight to see 4 schoolgirls, along with another blindfolded one, walking along the streets of Akihabara. Many people stop to stare, but they quickly make their way to the direction of the maid cafe despite Kotori’s constant prodding to find out what’s going on. 

* * *

When the maid cafe is in sight, Nozomi can actually feel the thumping of her heart knowing that inside the cafe, Umi is already in her maid costume and the whole execution is going to take place soon.

Knowing that Kotori will probably recognise the jingle while opening the door of the maid cafe, Eli and Nico make sure to cover her ears, much to her struggling from wondering what the heck is going on. Nozomi slowly pushes open the door, and sees that Umi is already standing in front of it with an embarrassed smile on her face. Holding the door, Honoka is first to enter to receive her cake from the cafe, and the rest of them carefully make their way in. 

When everyone is settled inside, Nozomi counts till 3 with her fingers, and Umi takes a deep breath. 

“Welcome Kotori-sama!” She delivers that line fluently, much to everyone’s surprise. Her face, however, is contorted in all kinds of manners after saying that. 

“Umi-chan…?” Kotori starts to speak up softly. 

With that, Eli and Nico help to remove the blindfold from Kotori’s eyes.

“Um… A party of five?” Umi continues shyly.

“Umi-chan! Why are you-“ 

“Let me guide you to your seats.” The bashful blue-haired begins to lead Kotori and the girls to a suitable place, much to Kotori’s confusion on the whole situation. 

After Umi hands them their menus and gives them time to decide on the food (even though the ordered food wouldn’t actually come because it’s part of the plan for Umi to come out with the cake), she quickly shuffles back into the kitchen, ready for her next step of the surprise. Albeit, she feels extremely humiliated by her displays. 

Kotori doesn’t look at the menu, partly because she already memorised everything on it, but mostly because she wants a reason for Umi’s actions. 

“I’ll go to the toilet first!” Honoka announces, excusing herself from them and once she sees that Kotori isn’t looking, she quickly ducks back behind the curtains leading to the kitchen to meet Umi. The only ones left with Kotori are Nozomi, Eli and Nico. 

“Nozomi-chan, what is happening? Do you know anything about this?” Kotori asks, beetling her forehead.

Nozomi simply shakes her head and rests her arm on the table to glance over at the birthday girl. 

“Umi-chan looks cute though, right?” 

Having her question unanswered, Kotori shifts her glance to Eli.

“Eli-chan?” 

Eli lets out a soft, slow laugh. “I don’t know, Kotori. Let’s just sit back and order our foods.” 

Exasperated, Kotori then makes a final glance towards Nico’s direction this time.

“Don’t ask me, they dragged me here.” Nico gives an unbothered expression, although deep down she is just as much involved in this surprise with the rest of the girls. 

Feeling defeated, Kotori stares back at the menu in her hand, but despite doing so, thoughts of Umi in her maid costume and maid etiquette consumes her mind. 

“Are we ready to order?” Eli speaks up after a while.

The rest of them agrees and Eli raises her hand, which is actually a cue to get Umi and Honoka out with the cake and the alpaca soft toys. 

Just then, the lights in the maid cafe go out, and this stuns the other customers in the maid cafe as they comment things like, “Is there a power trip?” or simply “Oh no!” 

However, the darkness is soon cut short when the light from birthday candles on a cake comes closer to Kotori’s table, and the customers then get the hang of what is going on. 

They start to clap their hands just as the happy birthday music plays through the stereo in the maid cafe. Umi keeps a firm grip on the cake as she walks closer to the table, while singing the birthday song together with the rest of the people present in the cafe. 

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday you to you, happy birthday to Kotori-chan!!!! Happy birthday to you!!!!”

After the song stops, Umi stops as well, right in front of Kotori. 

Kotori looks back at Umi, and she doesn’t even realise that tears have started to form around her eyes. 

“Umi-chan…” She whispers, still shaken by everything that has happened. 

Umi’s lips curl to form the sweetest smile, and drinks in the view of her crush looking so cute and beautiful at the moment.

“Happy birthday, Kotori.” Umi says again, putting the cake with its candles still lit in front of her. 

“Blow the candles!” Nozomi prods. 

Kotori looks at her friends around her, and the tears finally escape her eyes. 

“You guys… Umi-chan… All of you did this for me. Thank you.” 

She closes her eyes and blows the candles on the cake, and at the same time the lights in the cafe comes back on. 

Everyone cheers, and Umi places the cake on the table. She taps Honoka and the ginger-haired girl quickly takes out the two alpacas she’s been hiding behind her back, passing it to Umi.

Umi extends Kotori’s present in front of her, turning her face to the side from being so shy. 

“These… These are for you.” 

“Umi-chan is quite funny isn’t she! I don’t know why she’s suddenly so shy! It must be the maid outfit!” Honoka suddenly exclaims.

Nozomi and Eli give off sly grins to each other upon hearing that. Little does Honoka know that her two dear best friends are in the more-than-just-best friends stage with each other. 

“Umi-chan, these are so cute!! Thank you so much!” Kotori then stands up to match Umi’s height, and receives the beige alpaca from her. 

“This is for you too.” Umi says, her head directing to the other pink alpaca on her hand. 

“No, you keep that. It’ll be like having our first matching soft toys together as a couple!” 

Just then, a silence fills the air and it’s probably because of the declaration of them being a couple that stuns them into silence, well, mostly Honoka.

“Eh!! Couple??!! What!!!” Honoka exclaims, her face ceasing in a confused manner. 

“Maaa, I think Kotori just means it in a friendly but also really close way.” Nozomi cuts in, trying to help Kotori and Umi conceal their relationship, although she herself is shocked that they have actually progressed to that stage. Umi’s previous “ _We aren’t exactly”_ when asked about her relationship with Kotori is more than just that after all.

However, Kotori and Umi seem to be trapped in their own romantic vortex that even Honoka's outburst didn’t faze them.

“I actually think you look so much better than me in a maid outfit, Umi-chan.” Kotori says softly, a little shy herself too. 

“Mou, Kotori. It’s hard being in these.. I wonder how you do it most of the time.” Umi smiles shyly.

“Is it me or has it gotten a little yuri in here?” The voice comes from surprisingly, Nico as she observes the interactions from the two first years.

Eli clasps her mouth from letting out a laughter, and this time Kotori and Umi actually heard about whatever they are saying around them.

“No no no!!!! It’s not yuri! It’s shameless!” Umi shakes her head profusely, the poofy areas around her maid costume shaking along at the same time. Kotori on the other hand, only giggles and takes a step closer to the blue-haired girl. 

“Umi-maid sama, will you give me a kiss?” Kotori deepens her voice, and points to her cheek.

“Yeah, it has definitely gotten yuri in here.” Nico comments. 

Nozomi and Eli squeeze each other’s thighs under the table, giddy from their juniors’ forwardness in being so open about their relationship—although Umi is a huge, red cheek maddening mess.

“Kotori!! I can’t do that! Wha-“ Umi cries out in terror. 

“A maid can’t refuse me, can she?” Kotori continues to point to her cheek. 

“Can.. Can the alpacas kiss instead?” Umi mumbles shyly, holding our her alpaca to Kotori’s.

“Mou, Umi-chan is so lame!” Kotori chides playfully, although she agrees and holds out her own alpaca closely to Umi’s as well. 

However, before their soft toys can touch each other’s, Kotori swiftly moves her head to be near Umi’s cheeks, and instead of getting a kiss on her cheek, she proceeds to press a quick kiss on Umi’s hot, warm cheek.

“Kotori! Wha-wha-what!!!” Umi hides her face, the area of her cheek where Kotori kissed growing hotter and hotter. 

At the same time, Nozomi squeezes Eli’s thigh under the table so hard Eli almost lets out a squeal. 

“K-k-k-k-kotori-chan just kissed Umi-chan!” Honoka exclaims in shock, her face pale from the action. She isn’t against the idea, but she is just shocked upon seeing her two best friends act in such an intimate manner.

As if the kiss isn’t enough, Kotori leans in to Umi’s ear, and whispers, “You’re so cute, Umi-chan.” 

She then turns back to the rest of the girls around her and smiles widely. “Thank you all so much again! It was a really great birthday surprise!” 

“No problem Kotori-chan! It was a huge feat to get Umi-chan to wear that cute looking costume indeed.” Nozomi winks at Umi, who still hasn’t recovered from Kotori’s forwardness with her intimacy. 

“It was also quite fun seeing her work so hard to win the alpaca in your hand for you!” Eli adds on, copying Nozomi’s wink as well. 

Everyone else seems to be conversing with Kotori as well, except Honoka who seems to still be in a state of shock as she mutters out, “K-k-k-kotori, U-Umi.. Kiss…” 

* * *

After the celebration, which was mostly spent with various hilarious banters and of course Kotori and Umi’s rather obvious exchange of gazes with each other, they go their separate ways, leaving Nozomi and Eli standing outside the maid cafe, watching as they slowly fade out from sight.

“Today was quite a success wasn’t it?” Eli says, watching the orange and slightly purple-ish sunset. 

“It was. I also felt very happy.” Nozomi responds with a contented smile. 

Eli tilts her head, admiring the pleasant look on Nozomi’s face.

“Because you spent the day with a group of friends?” 

Nozomi nods, and turns to Eli, and she giggles softly when she realises that Eli is already staring at her. 

“Oh, um.” Eli clears her throat and reaches into her bag. 

Nozomi tilts her head, trying to get a look at whatever Nozomi is taking out. A gasp escapes her mouth when she sees the stuff toy that Eli is retrieving from her bag. 

“Elicchi! Is that totoro?!!!” Nozomi closes the gap between them, eyes in awe at her favourite cartoon character in the form of a soft toy. 

“Yeah, heh.” Eli chuckles nervously, putting the toy in Nozomi’s hand. 

“No wonder your bag was so bulky looking today…” Nozomi says. 

“I saw it while Kotori was playing with the UFO catcher, so after we parted ways yesterday, I went back into the arcade and spent some time trying to get it for you.” 

“Elicchi…” Nozomi calls out, her heart fluttering with every word that comes out from the blonde in front of her. 

“Mou, we’re not even dating yet and you’re already spoiling me….” Nozomi grins. 

“See the thing is…” Eli grabs hold onto Nozomi’s hand that isn’t holding the totoro, and her icy blue eyes gazes intensely into Nozomi’s turquoise eyes. 

“I want to date you, Nozomi. I mean look at how far Kotori and Umi are already, as seniors we can’t lose to them can we?” Eli sucks in her lips after saying that. She really did not intend to mention the part about Kotori and Umi, but she feels too nervous that she is actually rambling. 

“Mou, says the one who told our juniors to put the seniority and honorifics aside.” Nozomi giggles. 

“Well how can I turn down the cute blondie who went all the way just to get me this totoro toy?” She continues, hugging the soft toy in her hand tight, but holding on to Eli’s hand on her other hand even tighter. 

“Wow so you only like me for getting you this toy huh?” Eli raises her brow with an amused grin.

“Just kidding, hehe. I have been wondering when we were going to be girlfriends too actually.” Nozomi gives a more tantalising wink this time, causing Eli to lick her lips in awe of the purple-haired’s beauty. 

“Should we….. Go out on a date this weekend?” Eli suggests with a soft tone to her voice.

Nozomi giggles and uses her hand to twirl Eli’s ponytail, before pulling her into a hug, although the totoro toy seems to have gotten in the way between them in their hug too.

“I think we should, Elicchi.” 

* * *

**OMAKE:**

_ A conversation that happened during the celebration in the maid cafe.  _

“K-k-k-kotori, U-Umi.. Kiss…” 

Honoka seems to have been hypnotised after witnessing the cheek kiss between Kotori and Umi, and the only words that she says are Kotori, Umi and kiss. 

“Alright, there’s something we have to tell you, Honoka-chan.” Umi says. Her feet shuffles nervously under the table, accidentally kicking Kotori’s at the same time. 

Kotori, mistaking this as a cue to tell Honoka what’s going on, immediately opens her mouth to speak. 

“Umi-chan and I love each other.” 

“Oh, but I love you two too!” Honoka laughs, not realising the real meaning of the love they just mentioned. 

“No.” The voice comes from Umi, and all heads turn to see her.

“We love you too, Honoka. But Kotori and I… We love each other in that sort of way. Even though it’s kind of embarrassing to say it.” 

“EHHHHH?!!!! How?!!!!” How did this happen?!!!” Honoka stands up in her seat, looking back at her two best friends. 

“Yuri, I said it. Yuri.” Nico chants. It seems that Nico also looks to be hypnotised as well, as the only word that keeps coming out of her mouth is “Yuri”. 

“I think it just happens, Honoka, I suddenly see Kotori in a romantic way, and thankfully she does too, so… Honestly, Nozomi and Eli-chan helped us a lot.” Umi explains, no longer as shy as before.

Honoka sits back down, and thinks to herself for a while, before standing up again and pointing her finger at Nozomi and Eli. 

“So that’s why 4 of you went to Disneyland together! It was a date kind of thing! Don’t tell me….” 

Her glance deepens on the blonde and purple-haired girl, and she lets out a shriek. 

“Don’t tell me Nozomi and Eli-chan are in love too!!!!!” 

“Mou, calm down Honoka…” Eli says with a crooked smile, not wanting to expose her and Nozomi’s own feelings for each other just yet. 

“Well…” Nozomi speaks up. “What about you and Nico? I’m pretty sure you two have a great bond from all your duo idol practices as well.” She gives a sly grin, and Honoka and Nico’s eyes widen at the same time.

“NO! NEVER. I’ll never be with Honkers. She’s too baka to be my companion.” Nico retorts, her face showing a look of disgust. 

“Nico, you’re a meanie!” Honoka pouts. “But I’ll never be with Nico in that way too. She’s too bossy!” 

“Mou…. Yet I always see you two together…” Nozomi drawls out. 

“IDOLS!”

“IDOLS!”

Both of them speak up at the same time.

“We only put up with each other because of idols!”

* * *

 


	14. Chapter 14

14\. She’s the girl that no one ever knows, Works a double just to buy her clothes.

 

“Can you make sure all these have been stamped and approved?” Eli instructs, passing a stack of papers to the purple-haired beside her. 

“Hai, hai.” Nozomi chirps, receiving the stack of papers from Eli, brushing past her knuckles while doing so, making her smile.

Staying back after school on certain days for the student council has been a more common routine for Nozomi, and she is more than willing than do so. Even though the both of them don’t talk much as they immerse themselves into finishing their work for the student council, Nozomi enjoys simply sitting alongside the blonde, and occasionally stealing glances at her. She takes in all the details of her - how her brows would furrow as she squints to read through the contents of a document, the way she would unknowingly stick out her tongue when she concentrates hard on something, and even the gentle smile that plays along her lips whenever she is done with her work for the day. 

“Hey, Elicchi.” Nozomi calls out, without looking up as her attention is still focused on the papers in her hands. 

“Yes, Nozomi?” Eli replies instantly. 

“Have you decided on what we’ll be doing for our date?” 

“Mou, why is it all up to me!” She hears Eli’s reply, sensing the amusement in her tone. 

Nozomi puts down the papers on the table, securing them with a paperweight, and finally turns her gaze to the blonde. 

“Well, you asked me out for a date, so surprise me.” Nozomi answers with an unrelenting wink, causing the blonde to sigh softly. 

“Who would have thought that dating you would be so meddlesome huh?” 

“Hey!” Nozomi pouts, and folds her arms, giving a glare, although it looks more adorable than menacing. 

“I’m just kidding. I’ll definitely surprise you for sure.” Eli giggles, and Nozomi eventually turns her lips up to form a smile, which soon escalates into a chuckle as well.

* * *

Seeing that Nozomi is done with her work for the student council and has started packing, Eli stands up and gets her bag, heading towards the door of the student council room.

“Walk you home?” Eli tilts her head, forming a shy smile. 

“Hehe, that’s very cute of you. Let’s go, Elicchi!” Nozomi beams, following Eli behind, and locking the student council door behind her. 

* * *

“So you’ve been doing well in school so far right?” Eli raises her voice a little as she asks, in order to project herself clearly amidst the sounds of cars and huge trucks passing by along the road.

“Yeah, I mean, knowing that I got a pretty blonde girl sitting behind me and watching me everyday in class, I can definitely do anything!” Nozomi exclaims casually, her constant teasing never failing to cause a playful eye roll from the blonde. 

“Mou, I’m asking you a serious question and here you are joking around.” Eli says, trying to keep a stern glance. 

The two girls then walk past the ever-crowded Akihabara station, and the sight of the station makes Eli stop in her tracks. She has been thinking on places to bring Nozomi to other than Akiba for their date, but unfortunately she isn’t very good with the numerous train stations in Tokyo and needs a handy tool before she actually attempts to use the train to take Nozomi out on a date.

“Eh? What is it?” Nozomi questions, stopping beside Eli as well. 

“Nothing! Let me just grab a train station map!” The blonde exclaims, rushing over to a board where a few copies of the train station map are placed. She takes up one, and quickly stuffs it into her bag. Looking back at Nozomi’s confused face, she quickly flashes a hasty grin.

“It’s for Alisa, she always tells me how she gets lost with all the confusing train lines in Tokyo. Can’t blame her right? I mean she wasn’t brought up as long as me here.” 

What a horrible, horrible lie. And even making use of her sister to do so. But no matter what Eli didn’t want to let her own crush see what kind of loser she was with Tokyo’s transportation.

Nozomi simply nods, and continues walking with Eli. By her side, Eli heaves a sigh of relief, knowing that her excuse earlier had been convincing enough. 

* * *

Once she reaches home, Eli quickly takes out the slightly crushed train station map and looks through it for a while. She groans to herself as she looks at the different lines intersecting each other, and scratches her head in slight agony. This is all too much for the blonde. Sure, she can memorise maths formulas and scientific terms, but trying to absorb all the different train stations in Tokyo is sure a whole new level. Just then, her phone beeps, signalling a text and she immediately checks it.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.52PM): what are u up to pretty lady（＾＿－）

Eli grips on her phone, smiling bashfully at the text from Nozomi and forgetting all the train station frustration from earlier on. 

Ayase Eli (5.53PM): Well… I just got home. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.53PM): hmmmmmm but my cards tell me that you’re probably stressing out over our date, and investigating a certain train station map to plan things out ;) 

Eli widens her eyes as she scans through the message from Nozomi. She whips her head around, wondering if Nozomi is spying her from somewhere. Although it’s honestly impossible as she has sent her home earlier on - unless that purple-haired girl is a superhero or a clairvoyant. She quickly looks back at her phone, typing back her reply. 

Ayase Eli (5.54PM): Why would you think that… Are you psychic??? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.54PM): i told you, my cards told me so ;) but really elicchi, you are a horrible liar. i saw ur face when u kept the map in ur bag. nobody would look so suspicious like that if they were only helping their younger sister to get a map! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.55PM): also, don’t forget who was the one who almost went into the wrong platform of the train until umi-chan reminded u when we went to disneyland ;))

Eli shakes her head, and sighs. Of course Nozomi would use that against her. 

Ayase Eli (5.55PM): Fine, I took it because I’m clueless with the train directions, okay. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.56PM): heheh, smart student council president but so baka with ur directions… it’s very cute though! ( ´ ▽ ` )b 

Ayase Eli (5.56PM): When will you stop teasing me!! 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.56PM): never!! and btw u don’t have to plan our date, silly~let’s just meet at akihabara station this saturday, and we’ll see where it takes us (＾▽＾) 

Ayase Eli (5.57PM): You’re lucky I like you. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.57PM): aww cmon, you like me more than that (๑◕︵◕๑)

Ayase Eli (5.57PM): Do I? We’ll see. （＾＿・）

* * *

Nozomi finds herself waking up at 8AM in the morning on Saturday, with the totoro soft toy that Eli had given her in her arms. She is supposed to meet Eli at 12PM, and much to her tendency of being an early riser, it’s almost impossible to fall back asleep. She places the totoro on her bed, patting it gently with a smile as she continues to make her bed.

After washing up, she stands before her full length mirror and gathers her purple hair, placing them in front of her. She remembers how Eli always stared at her longer than usual whenever she did a side braid, and a grin overcomes her face when she starts to part her hairs to braid them. 

After doing so, Nozomi picks out a pale yellow sleeveless top, matching it with a short floral skirt that she thought looked cute when she bought it. Considering the windy breeze due to the fall season, she puts on a jacket that is similarly coloured to her hair, and wears on a pair of light grey thigh highs to finish her look. She does look cute, she has to admit. But this is her first date after all, and sharp jitters pierce her stomach at the thought of her looking good enough for Eli. 

It only takes Nozomi 1 and a half hours to get ready, and she decides to head to the shrine first to idle her time. Before she does however, she shoots Eli a quick text, even though she knows that the Russian-Japanese is probably still asleep. 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (9.34AM): ohayo, elicchi! it’s quite early right now, but i guess u can say i’m pretty excited about our date hehe ~♡

Before she can put her phone back into the pocket of her outerwear though, she receives an instant reply, startling herself. 

elicchi (´∀｀)♡ (9.34AM): Harasho! I’m quite early myself too. See you later, Nozomi! 

elicchi (´∀｀)♡ (9.34AM): ♡

Nozomi grits on her teeth happily as she looks at the rare emoticon that Eli just sent her. Who would have known that the seemingly unapproachable and cold student council president would be sending someone a heart emoticon? She giggles and thinks to herself, “Love is amazing indeed.” 

On the other hand, Eli is up early as she has’t quite gotten a wink herself. The whole night, she has been tossing and turning in bed, wondering if the day will go out fine. A date may seem normal to others, but for her, and the fact that her date is a girl, is still quite a nerve-wracking thing to initiate. 

The blonde stands before her closet, picking out her outfit for the date. Although she doesn’t shop often, her mother occasionally comes home with a wide range of designer clothings, much to Eli’s protests of wearing unnecessary expensive clothings. However, since today is a day where impressions count, the blonde couldn’t be more thankful for the haul of clothes in her closet. She picks out a dark green turtleneck, and matches it with a beige high waist pants. As she looks closer, she realises that the pants have 2 hooks, and knowing what its for, she takes out the suspenders on the hanger and straps it from the waist of her pants to her top. She also takes along a beige blazer, one of the most costly item from her closet and brings it with her in case it gets chilly later.

“Wow wow, I was wondering why there’s so much noise coming from your room this morning.” 

Eli’s usual motherly tone cuts in, causing Eli to frown at her mother’s sudden appearance into her room. 

“Mou, why didn’t you knock!” Eli furrows her brow as she shoots a glare at her mother. 

“Ah, sorry Elichika. I was just worried, is all.” 

Her mother goes forward, and places her arms around the shoulders of her daughter, spinning her around slowly like a turn table.

“Ara, aren’t you all dressed up?” She ponders, with a slight tease to her voice. 

“Got a date?” She continues, with a sly grin. 

“Mou, oka-san!!!! I’m just going out with Nozomi! We’re going to the city, so I have to dress up a little!” Eli quickly shoots a nervous reply, flustered by her mother’s questions. 

“Hai, hai. Whatever you say. It’s nice seeing you dressed up like this though. It reminds me of myself as a teenager back in Russia.” She reminisces. 

“Well, you have expensive tastes.” Eli comments, relaxing a little.

“Hey! That’s because us, the Ayases work hard!” Her mother snaps back. 

Eli nods, understanding where her mother is coming from. The Ayases always had a lump sum of income from the number of ballet recitals they have performed, and Eli gives a sad smile, realising that she is unable to carry on this tradition. 

“Well, I think you look very beautiful. Just like your oba-sama.” The voice of Eli’s mother breaks her train of thoughts. 

Eli smiles, looking back at her reflection in the mirror. She looks different - more mature, and definitely dressed up for the date. Although her heart is palpitating crazily at the thought of seeing Nozomi later.

* * *

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.53AM): i’m here already. waiting outside the fast food place. u?

Eli quickens her pace, gripping on to the phone in her hand as she types out a swift reply. 

Ayase Eli (11.53AM): Reaching! Hang on! 

Eli quickly shuts her phone, and attempts to slide it into the pocket of her pants, only realising that those pockets are actually, fake pockets. 

“Damn these fake pockets!” She silently curses to herself, eventually putting it back into her handbag. She will probably be able to find Nozomi even in this crowd anyway.

And as she turned into the stretch with the fast food restaurant nearby the Akiba station, the sight of the braided purple-haired girl immediately catches her attention. She looks at her from top to bottom, and that’s when it hits her: she has overdressed. Nozomi looks really cute, with casual yet kind of flirty outfit which is so suitable for this date, and meanwhile Eli just looks like someone attending a wedding banquet, or worse still, someone’s sugar momma. Lowering her head slightly, she walks over to Nozomi stealthily. 

“Hi, Nozomi…” Eli greets softly as soon as she reaches over to her. 

For a moment, Nozomi seems to respond to her greeting, but her lingering glance on Eli prevents her from speaking. There seems to be raise of her brow along with a sheepish grin as she takes in the sight of Eli, and once their eyes meet, Nozomi’s smile grow wider.

“You look really hot. Like, Russian babe hot.” Nozomi comments without much thought. 

Eli doesn’t use blush as part of her makeup routine, but the natural flush on her face at the moment has provided her with a pinkish tint to her cheeks. 

“Maybe I should have just kept it less formal, huh?” Eli nervously chuckles. 

“Nothing less from the student council president!” Nozomi winks, and links her arms with Eli as they enter the fast food restaurant. 

As they enter, they realise that there are still a number of two-people seats available, so they head straight to the counter to order their foods first. 

“You go first, hottie Elicchi.” Nozomi makes way for Eli in front of the queue, and the blonde is left standing face front in front of the cashier, at a loss for words. 

She quickly scans through the menu past the cashier, and she licks her lips in anxiety. It’s quite rare for her to be seen ordering food from a fast food restaurant, as she mostly eats at home or packaged food from grocery stores ever since moving to Japan. 

“Uhh-uhh- one- uh” She starts speaking, although rather unsteadily. 

“Could I have the, uh- cheeseburger..” 

The cashier smiles widely, and nods. 

“Would you like it ala-carte or with the meal?” 

Eli then clears her throat and looks around the menu for the other food and drink items that goes along with the meal. 

“Uh-uh..” 

“We’ll have two cheeseburger meals, with the ice lemon tea and fries please.” Nozomi’s voice surfaces from the back. 

Eli turns around, red-faced from her mumbling. 

As the cashier goes over to prepare the drinks, Nozomi nudges Eli and lets out a giggle. 

“Mou, Elicchi is dressed so nicely but is such a loser when it comes to ordering food at a fast food restaurant.” 

“Hey!” Eli snaps back, hitting Nozomi’s arm with her elbows lightly. “I’m learning okay!” 

* * *

As they eat, Nozomi keeps her glance focused on the blonde in front of her. As beautiful and classy as she looks today, she can’t help but to hold her laughter in when she sees the blonde being so extra careful with handling the burger in her hand, holding the plastic wrappers around the burger so protectively, and even taking mouse bites from the burger.

“What?” Eli looks up, after chewing on her small portion of food. 

“Nothing, hehe. You’re such a dork.” Nozomi says with a smile, earning an eye roll from Eli.

“Stop making fun of me.” Eli draws her brows together, and narrows her glance at Nozomi. 

Nozomi quickly whips out her phone from her pocket, and snaps a photo of Eli with her cute annoyed expression.

“Hey! You littl-“ 

Eli is about to launch into a lashing tirade, but her words stop short when the photo Nozomi taken reminds her of one thing - Instagram. 

“Hey Nozomi.” Her tone changes, and Nozomi relaxes, placing her phone back onto the table. 

“Do you have Instagram?”

“Instagram?” Nozomi repeats, beetling her forehead. “Well I did want to create one back then, but it’s not like I would have anyone to follow too…” Her voice lowers, slightly disheartened. 

“It’s okay, you have people to follow now.” Eli winks, attempting to cheer the purple-haired girl up.

“What does it look like anyway?” Nozomi asks.

Eli nods and opens up the application on her phone, while Nozomi leans forward to look at the screen as well. 

Eli doesn’t actually use the app often, and her only purpose of creating an account last year was because Alisa forced her to post a picture with her on that platform. And that picture remains to be the only post on her profile. She checks it for a while, and sees that about 450 people have followed her, adding on to the 200+ followers that she already as. They are all probably from Otonokizaka High, judging from their school uniforms in their respective profile pictures. The weird thing is how they could even find her with a username like harashoeli. 

“Wow, so popular huh?” Nozomi comments, looking at Eli’s profile. 

“I don’t even think that have I spoken to them before…” Eli mutters, as she scrolls past some of her followers. She stops however, when she sees 3 striking usernames in a row, piquing her interest. 

_“sono-umi-dah, kotoriiii, honknoka…”_ Eli reads out slowly.

“Ooh are those our juniors’ profiles?” Nozomi pipes up in anticipated curiosity. 

“Yeah, it appears so…” Eli says, as she clicks on Umi’s profile. 

She doesn’t have much photos on her profile, but most of them seem to be filled with photos of her and her two other childhood friends Kotori and Honoka, which she thought was cute. 

Eli then hovers over to Kotori’s profile, and she is surprised to see that she has a shocking amount of 800+ followers, and her photos are all edited to match a pastel-like theme which is so her. She clicks on the latest photo, and it is a back view of Umi practising her archery in the archery room in school, with a heart eyes emoji as the caption. She opens up the comments, and lets out a laughter when she sees that honknoka has commented, “hidoi! why don’t you ever post a photo of me doing my idol practice and putting a heart face!” 

“That’s so typical of Honoka.” Nozomi giggles, as she takes it upon her to scroll more of Kotori’s photos. 

“Hey, Nozomi. Let’s create one for you together now.” Eli suggests with a bright smile. 

“Hehe, sure. I’ll probably be really active with this.” The purple-haired girl replies, full of optimism, a sight that makes Eli smile.

Nozomi takes her phone and downloads the application. In less than 2 minutes, the download is done and she opens the app to go to the sign up page. 

“Hmm…” She drawls out, thinking of a username to use. 

She types out some letters, but deletes it again, and types in some more.

Finally, she sets on the username, “nozotojo” 

“Nozo tojo?” Eli reads out.

“Yeah, like the powerpuff girls villian, mojo jojo.” Nozomi beams with pride as she explains her choice of username. 

The corners of Eli’s lip curl up, and she looks back at her date in front of her, enraptured by the sight. “You’re so full of shit, Nozomi…” 

If Eli were to continue, she would have slipped in an “I love you”, but decides to hold it back, since that would be too soon for a date.

Nozomi seems to be doing something on her new Instagram profile, and Eli continues to eat her food while she waits. After a while, she receives a notification on her phone and checks it, realising it’s an Instagram notification. She goes back to the app, and sees that nozotojo has followed her, and even tagged her in a photo. 

The photo, which is Nozomi’s first photo, turns out to be the same picture that she has taken of Eli earlier on, where Eli was looking extra dorky with her food. The caption is a heart-eyes emoji, with reference from Kotori’s post. 

“Hey I haven’t finished scolding you for that!” Eli reaches out to snatch Nozomi’s phone away from her, but the purple-haired sticks out her tongue and resists Eli’s action. Needless to say, the blonde feels so honoured to be the subject of Nozomi’s first photo.

* * *

“Hey, can we stop by the camera shop real quick please?” Nozomi asks, after they get out of the fast food restaurant.

“Hm, yeah I don’t see why not. It’s Akiba after all.” Eli agrees, knowing the city is popular for their electronics. 

The camera store displays many different cameras, ranging from old film cameras to the modern-day DSLRs, but the purple-haired seems to have already made up her mind, going up to the cashier and pointing to the display of an old film camera. 

“Why do you want a camera?” Eli asks.

“Instagram is fun, but I want something physical that I can keep with me by my side, or even fill my wall up with.” Nozomi replies, throwing her head back with a smile. 

The cashier then brings back the camera to the counter, and Nozomi makes a few checks before taking out her wallet to pay.

“Wait!” Eli stops Nozomi, just as the money is taken out midway from the wallet. 

“H-h-how much is it?” Eli stutters slightly, nervous to be doing such a thing like paying for someone on a date. 

“Mou, Elicchi.” Nozomi calmly grabs Eli’s wrist, and strokes it with her thumb, eyes gazing into hers. 

“You don’t have to pay for me just because you’re dressed like my sugar mommy.” 

“Do I.. Really look like a sugar mommy…” Eli asks, slightly embarrassed that even Nozomi has referenced her dressing style to being a sugar mommy. 

“A sexy one though.” Nozomi winks.

Realising the both of them are literally talking about this so openly in front of the cashier, Nozomi quickly takes out the money from the wallet and pays for the camera, and they quickly leave the store, hoping to never see the cashier’s reaction from their rather flirtatious interactions. 

“Where shall we go now?” Eli asks, still wondering how Nozomi’s “we’ll go where it takes us” plan will work for their date. 

Nozomi puts her finger to her chin and looks up, as if deep in thoughts. She then looks back at Eli from top to bottom, as if analysing her, and Eli shies her head away from being looked at so closely.

“Let’s go to Shibuya!” Nozomi announces.

* * *

After a short train ride, Nozomi and Eli find themselves in one of the clothing stores in Shibuya 109, much to Eli’s apprehensiveness.

“Okay so… Can you explain why we’re here?” Eli asks, feeling the gaze of the female teenagers in the store, probably because her outfit doesn't fit in to the wide array of vivacious and outstanding clothing around her. 

“Well…” Nozomi brings up her arms and adjusts Eli’s collar on her blazer. “I think you look really attractive like this, but wouldn’t it be fun if we dressed each other up on this date?” 

“Ehh? You want to do that? But…” 

Eli browses through the nearest clothing rack beside her with a frown on her face.

“There’s nothing that I would wear here.” 

Nozomi gives off a sly grin and inches closer to Eli. 

“That’s the point, Elicchi, hehe.” 

“We have ten minutes, let’s go!!” Nozomi continues, all charged up and leaving a clueless Eli standing beside the clothing rack.

After then minutes, they meet up near the dressing room. Eli manages to pick out a white strapless frilly dress that stops above the knees, and fishnet stockings to wear underneath for Nozomi. When Nozomi comes closer to Eli with a huge pile of clothing in her hand, she knows that she has rendered herself defeated. 

With an ecstatic giggle, the both of them switch their clothing piles and enter their respective dressing rooms which are beside each other. 

Eli gulps as she sees that among the pile of tops and bottoms, there is a piece of maid dress inside, which is similar to Kotori’s usual maid outfit at the maid cafe. Of course Nozomi would do such a thing…

As she proceeds to take out her top, she feels a sudden snap on her back, and she half winces and half yells as she sees that Nozomi is actually behind her, pulling on to the strap of her suspenders. 

“Nozomi!!! What are you doing here!!!” She whispers through gritted teeth and an alarming glare. 

Nozomi cups her hand to Eli’s mouth, silencing her and going over to her ears to whisper, “That way I can easily see how you look in your outfit!”

“No!! Go buack to gurr room!” The blonde’s words comes out muffled, but Nozomi continues to stay there with a grin on her face. 

“It’s okay, I won’t watch you change like a pervert.”

“You already are!” Eli retorts, her mouth now free from Nozomi’s hand. 

Nozomi gives a wink before starting to tug at her top, and taking it out completely, leaving her in her bra and skirt. Eli quickly turns around to face the other side, shielding her eyes from looking at Nozomi. 

“So shy huh, Elicchi.” Nozomi teases, taking out her bottom now. Wanting to respect Eli as well, she turns to the other side so she is facing away as she puts on the dress that Eli has picked out for her. Little does she know, there is a mirror by the side and as she accidentally glances over to it, she sees that Eli is already undressed and left only in her bra and panties. However, what she notices most is the obvious outline of abs on Eli’s stomach. As if Eli isn’t already a goddess with classy looking clothing on the outside, she also looks like a goddess when her skin is bared. Nozomi feels her cheeks growing hotter, and quickly averts her glance from the mirror as she waits for Eli to finish changing. 

“I’m done.” Eli whispers.

“Me too.”

The both of them spin around, and Eli hugs to her body tightly, her outfit a total contrast to what she wore earlier this afternoon. Her insecurity washes away however, when she looks at Nozomi in her frilly dress, and the very obvious cleavage this is showing at the top. Nevertheless, she looks so cute and she is envious that Nozomi is able to flaunt her figure so well in the dress. 

“For starters, you don’t look like a sugar momma anymore.” Nozomi starts to speak, and Eli lets out a shy chuckle. 

“But you still look sexy.” Nozomi winks, making Eli more self-conscious of herself. She stares back at herself in the mirror again, and shakes her head with a sigh. 

Eli is wearing a black halter crop top, leaving her midriffs exposed, along with a short black skirt and a dark purple choker as an accessory. The blonde, who rarely wears thigh highs, is forced to do so this time to complete the look. 

“I don’t think I can go out like this…” Eli mutters softly. 

“It’s okay, everyone dresses like this here. Besides, I have to say your abs are really impressive.” Nozomi mentions, staring at the blonde’s abs which are being exposed. 

“It was from ballet.” Eli answers quickly. Nozomi’s lingering glance on her stomach however makes her cover that area, and the purple-haired girl pouts.

“But that’s no excuse for you to be pervin on me!” 

“Mou, Elicchi…….. I caught you pervin on my boobs too.” Nozomi drawls out, and Eli sighs in exasperation. This date isn’t like any typical first dates that most couples have because the atmosphere between the seems to have skyrocketed to an extent. 

The black and white maid outfit that continues to hang on the hook of the dressing room catches Eli’s attention, and she huffs as she takes out the outfit, showing them to Nozomi.

“And what about this? Care to explain this?” 

Nozomi gives off an exaggerated “oooooh”, feigning innocence. 

“Oh, I don’t know, why don’t you try that too?”

“Nozomi..” Eli draws her eyebrows together, and purses her lips to give an unbothered look. 

Nozomi giggles, taking the outfit from her and folding it back neatly. 

“Just kidding, I just wanted to see your flustered face when I gave this to you.”

As the two walk out after paying for their brand new clothes that they picked out for each other, they seem to give off quite a number of stares, especially from some teenage boys their age. 

“Woo blondie you lookin great!” One of the boys in the group calls out to Eli. 

Eli shoots him a glance, and turns to Nozomi’s side to see her reaction to that. She is surprised to see that Nozomi is actually smiling and waving to the boy.

“Yeah she does look great doesn’t she?” She pipes up with a huge smile. 

Without much thought, Nozomi’s deftly places her hand on Eli’s bum, giving it a light slap, which causes Eli to be frantic.

“She feels great too, but I guess I’m the only one who gets to do that.” 

As soon as Nozomi says that, the boys around them have on a defeated look on their faces, and they quickly walk away from them. 

“All done.” The purple-haired smiles, and withdraws her hands from Eli’s bum.

“That was quite traumatising.” Eli comments, still shaken from whatever that happened. 

“Hm? The boys? Or that butt grab?” She ends off her sentence with a wink. 

Eli groans as she looks at the pleasure on Nozomi’s face. 

“Both. Both were equally traumatising.”

They walk around Shibuya, and Eli starts to become more comfortable with her new outfit. Although if she was given a choice, she would still choose to look like a sugar momma instead. Nozomi on the other hand, has taken quite number of photos on her new camera, and even some on her phone to post on her new Instagram profile as well. However, despite the new things that both of them have tried out, they have never reached the point of holding each other’s hands as they walk around yet. Nozomi has tried to hint to Eli by brushing her fingertips as they walk, but the blonde hasn’t quite figured it out yet. 

They then go over to Harajuku, where they find themselves bracing the crowd, and sharing the famous Harajuku crepe together. 

“It’s such a deja-vu, the other time we purposely made Kotori and Umi share their milkshake at Disneyland, and now we’re sharing this crepe together.” Nozomi says, taking a small bite out of the crepe.

“Hey you were the one that cut my queue and ordered only one for us!” Eli huffs as she takes her own bite after Nozomi is done. Some whipped cream from the crepe drips out from the pastry in the process, and lands on Nozomi’s jacket.

“Oh shit! I’m sorry!” Eli mutters apologetically as she takes out a piece of tissue from her bag, while holding the crepe on the other hand. 

“It’s fine, Elicchi.” Nozomi calmly says, and takes out the jacket for ease of cleaning up. 

As she does so, a few groups of boys walk past them, and alas, they catcall towards the girls’ direction again. However, the subject of their catcalling this time is Nozomi, due to her visible cleavage that can be seen fully upon taking out her jacket. 

“Yoooooo you got a great oppai over there!” 

Noticing this, Eli’s cheeks go hot, and it isn’t from any flirty or shy things that she is feeling, but from the rage that she feels from the boys’ catcalling Nozomi. 

“Nozomi, hold my crepe.” Eli says, inwardly and outwardly seething. 

Nozomi receives the crepe from Eli, and her eyes widen when she feels that the ends of the crepe has been crushed slightly from the pressure of the blonde’s hands. 

“Hey, you!” Eli points to the greasy-haired boy in glasses who just catcalled Nozomi in a very student council president authoritative-like nature. 

The boy looks back, squinting at Eli. 

“You may look at my girl’s oppai’s! But you can never do what I can do!” Eli bellows, and then places her palm over Nozomi's left boob, squeezing them. 

Nozomi gasps, and it feels like her heart has stopped for a split second from that action. As if that was overwhelming enough, the thought of Eli saying “my girl” about her resonates in her mind and she realises that she’s feeling extremely shy, instantly forgetting about the pervert boy who just catcalled her. 

As expected, the boy then runs away, and Eli continues to smirk until he is out of sight. 

“Elicchi…” Nozomi begins to speak up.

As soon as Eli hears Nozomi’s voice, she comes back to her senses, and she looks back at Nozomi, seeing that her palm is still on Nozomi’s boob. Instantly, her face makes a 360 degrees change as she panics, and immediately retracts her hand away from her. 

“Shit, shit shit!” Eli cries out, as she looks everywhere around her, wondering if anyone has witnessed whatever that she did. Fortunately, everyone seems to be engrossed in the shops and food around the stretch, and Eli heaves a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to-“ 

“Eli, that’s so sweet of you.” 

Eli gives off a puzzled look, wondering any of that was sweet at all. In fact, it seems more pervertic than the boy who catcalled Nozomi. 

“You called me your girl.” Nozomi replies softly, turquoise eyes glowing immensely. 

Eli stops to think about whatever she did and said, and she bites into her lips as she recalls that she really called Nozomi her girl. 

“Well I… I mean, you’re.. My girlfri—” The blonde stutters. Her eyes go over to the crepe in Nozomi’s hand. 

“GAH GIVE ME BACK MY CREPE.” 

Eli quickly shouts, trying to change to topic. 

There’s no denying that Nozomi has heard whatever that Eli has said, and she giggles shyly, leaning closer to Eli. Her fingertips brush past hers again, but Eli’s hand quickly go up to adjust the crepe in her hands, and Nozomi pouts as she stares at the crepe. “THAT DAMN CREPE.” She mutters in her head. 

After a rather wild trail of events amidst crowded areas, the date winds down at the Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku. Nozomi, for the extremely spiritual person that she is, finds contentment in the shrine and is more than keen to perform all the usual routines that people do there. As she makes a blessing to the gods, Eli watches her, and the corners of her eyes crinkle as she finds herself smiling at the sight of the purple-haired being so peaceful, just like how she did at the kanda shrine. 

“Yes Elicchi? I know you’re looking at me.” Nozomi says softly, still praying with her eyes closed. 

“Always figuring out my actions huh?” Eli tilts her head, glance still fixated at the purple-haired. 

“Of course.” Nozomi finishes praying, and opens her eyes to meet Eli’s gaze. 

“I enjoy seeing how happy you look whenever you’re at the shrine.” 

Nozomi shakes her head, and takes a step closer to Eli. 

“It makes me happy when someone I love is at a place I love together with me.” 

* * *

It is soon evening, and both girls have dinner at a yakinuku teppanyaki restaurant. Eli suggested it knowing how much the purple-haired loved yakiniku, and the both of them savour the laughs along the way as Eli burns most of her meat. Eli hasn’t lost out at all though, as Nozomi takes it upon her to feed Eli, to which they both feel the burn - only in their cheeks this time.

They conclude their date with a stroll along Shinjuku’s Gyoen National Garden, and they see that there are many other couples there too, although all of them are heterosexual couples. Still, that has never stopped Nozomi from wanting to hold Eli’s hands. 

“I love it when it’s the fall season. The colour of the leaves on the trees always matches the sunset.” Nozomi mentions, looking up at the huge trees looming over them as they walk. 

Eli follows her gaze, and inhales the fresh scent in the air. 

“I’m more of a fan of pink cherry blossoms, but I could get used to the sight of orange on the leaves too.” 

“Hehe, I never expected you to be a cherry blossoms kind of girl.” Nozomi turns to the blonde on her side, and chuckles. 

“Hey, what does that even mean!” Eli asks, feigning hurt in her face. 

Taking advantage of this, Nozomi quickly grabs on to Eli’s hand, with a subtle upward curl of her lips, showing a shy smile. 

Both girls don’t say anything, but Nozomi feels Eli’s grasp tighten in Nozomi’s hand, and she breathes out as she feels Eli’s smooth fingers starting to interlock with hers. They continue walking, their hands in a tight clasp with each other. It’s amazing how their hands actually fit so well together, and none of them dare to let go so soon. They do not dare to look at each other as well, but it’s obvious that there is a hint of smile playing on their lips as they walk together. 

At about 8PM, Eli walks Nozomi back to her apartment. They don’t talk much this time, but instead they find a new kind of silent contentment in holding each other’s hands, and walking together.

They slow their pace as they reach the doorstep of Nozomi’s apartment, and gently let go of each other’s hands. 

“Well, it was a really good day.” Eli is the first to speak up, still giddy from having Nozomi’s hands in hers. 

Nozomi giggles, putting her fists to her mouth to soften her laughter. “It was quite an unconventional date I have to say…” 

“Speaking of which I’m never going to dress like this again.” Eli points to herself in her outfit. 

“Oh yes you will~” Nozomi chants out happily, much to Eli’s disagreement. 

Eli continues to keep her glance at Nozomi, biting onto the insides of her cheeks. She is dying to kiss the really adorable purple-haired girl, but the anxiety is clawing at her.

“I can’t wait to spend many more days like that with you, Elicchi.” Nozomi speaks out softly. 

“Mm hmm, yeah, me too.” Eli replies, her mind still whirring with thoughts on kissing Nozomi. 

Luckily for her, she is soon relieved of her thoughts when Nozomi is the first to lean in to Eli, tiptoeing slightly to position her lips over Eli’s, although not touching yet. Nozomi’s heart starts to pound as she inhales Eli’s usual scent that is assuring, although it has been mixed with a little charcoal smell from the teppanyaki earlier on. She sees that Eli is staring into her eyes and smiling, and with one hand, Nozomi gently tucks a strand of blonde hair behind Eli’s ears. Her hand then rests on Eli’s cheeks, pulling her closer and feeling their lips touching each other’s. She starts to kiss her gently. It’s a soft kiss, unhurried and innocent, yet to the both of them, it feels alright and natural. Just like their hands, they lips close in with each other’s so perfectly as well. 

“Non-chan?” 

Little did they know that mid-way during their kiss, the door in front of them opens without warning, and someone is already present in Nozomi’s house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised how slice of life this whole fic is... I mean I guess that's my intention and I don't think it's a bad thing but I don't know if its lacking any substance, so hey let's throw in some suspense at the end shall we? Ahahaha oh my :') I'm really enjoying writing this though, and it's always nice to know what you guys think, so thank you for the kudos and comments so far! ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh, this chapter took a while to get out. I'm sorry that there have been a delay in updates, but I was working on a personal writing project recently so I had to prioritise that first. I'm done with it however, so I can be sure that updates from now will be more consistent. Thank you so much for understanding, enjoy this chapter! (੭ ᐕ)੭*⁾⁾

15\. Nicotine and faded dreams,

 

_“Non-chan?”_

The voice resounds in Nozomi’s head. Stealthily, she looked in front and it was her. Her mother, in her apartment.

“Mama?” Nozomi murmurs softly. Her lips are still trembling from the kiss with Eli earlier on, and she gulps as she looks back at her mother who has on an astonished expression on her face. 

“Toujou-san…” Nozomi could hear Eli greeting timidly by her side. 

There is a brief moment of awkward silence before Nozomi’s mother opens the door fully, motioning for them to go in. 

Nozomi and Eli sit on the couch beside each other, with Nozomi’s mother standing in front of them. It looks as if they are being interrogated, an air of tension filling up the whole room. 

“Why… Are you here?” Nozomi says, lowering her head and playing with her fingers in her lap. 

“Ara, well, the cruise stopped for disembarking for a few days, so I thought I could fly over for the weekend and see how you’re doing! Your dad is still on board after all, so I’m sure he will be fine for a few days without me!” Nozomi’s mother says. Her tone is strangely calm and pleasant, despite the intensity of the situation. 

Nozomi swallows her breath, unable to respond. She is glad that her mother has made an effort to see how she is doing, especially after the Skype phone call with her few weeks ago that caused her to end up in tears. As for Eli, she confronted her mother during the conversation too, so seeing her in the flesh now is awkward. 

“But I guess my Non-chan is doing fine!” Her mother pipes up, clasping her hands together. The sudden cheery tone causes both girls to look up at her. “I feel relieved knowing that Ayase-san is together with you and taking care of you!” 

At the moment, both girls’ faces turn beet red. Nozomi isn’t expecting her mother to gush upon them, not especially when her mother isn’t aware of they relationship they have. Her mother then takes a few steps front, and then when both Nozomi and Eli see that she is about to squeeze in to the couch, they both scoot away from each other to make space for her mother in the middle. However, her mother only pushes Nozomi back to Eli’s side, and sits at the end of the couch beside Nozomi instead. 

“Come on, don’t be so shy! I’m fine with it!” Her mother prods. 

“Really?” Nozomi turns to face her mother, with the same calm and pleasant demeanour she has been donning on her face the entire time. 

“Hai, hai. I’m only a little disappointed you haven’t told me you were into girls, but I can’t blame you anyway.” She sighs. “I’m always never around as a mom.” 

Her mother is feeling guilty.

“Mama, you still came off the ship to see how I’m doing.” Nozomi whispers, in an attempt to make her mother feel better. 

“Do I need to give you two some space?” Eli says, after not speaking for a while. 

“Ah, please, you don’t have to.” Nozomi’s mother stretches her arm across them and places a reassuring grip on Eli’s wrist. 

“Speaking of which, Ayase-san is a such a pretty girl don’t you think? So pretty and caring, I like her already.” 

“Mama!” Nozomi cries out, embarrassed by her mother’s words. 

Eli can’t help but to resist a giggle, cupping her hands to her mouth. 

Her mother chuckles, and runs her fingers through Nozomi’s long, purple hair, gazing at her grown daughter affectionately. “I’m happy that my Non-chan is growing up and finding her first love.” She says wistfully. 

“I was shocked for a moment when I saw you two kissing in front of me, but I couldn’t find it in me to judge that what I saw was wrong.” Suddenly, a sly smile forms up Nozomi’s mother lips, the slight creases forming by her eyes. “Plus, a young woman came up to me while I was having a dip in the pool while on my break on the cruise, and she tried to flirt with me! She was quite cute, I have to say, and if I weren’t married to your oto-san I would have considered flirting back at her!"  


“Mama!” Nozomi whines, cringing from the thought of her mother acting so sly and open, especially in front of Eli. 

“Just kidding!” Nozomi’s mother wipes a tear from laughing, and stares back at her own daughter. “But honestly, I’m happy to see you in love.” 

_In love?_ Nozomi thought. Sure, she loves Eli, but to say they are in love is such a big word. After all, they just had their first date, and they didn’t even officially address each other as girlfriends yet. Sure, Eli has shyly called Nozomi her girlfriend just now, but it wasn't expressed confidently, so there was no confirmation about it yet. She turns her head towards Eli, who is blushing and gently holds her hand on the sofa. Eli looks back at her with enlarged blue eyes, wondering if is okay to do that but Nozomi calmly nods her head and holds Eli’s hand tightly. 

“We just had our first date.” Nozomi says, feeling slightly confident now that she can feel Eli’s warm, gentle hand in hers. 

“Ara, first date?” Her mother coos. “Reminds me of when your Oto-san and I fell in love at the restaurant where we were only part-timers at that time.” 

Nozomi grins, recalling her her parents met as part-timers in a restaurant, and then worked their way up to become successful chefs together. 

“So is our future daughter-in-law a good cook too?” 

“EHH?!” Both Nozomi and Eli look at Nozomi’s mother in shock. That is too soon. Too soon of a thing to say. 

Seeing their surprised faces, her mother waves her hand casually in an attempt to calm them down. “Maa, can’t you two lovebirds relax a little? But really, is Ayase-san a good cook too?” 

Eli lowers her head embarrassingly, knowing how much she has failed in her cooking attempts thus far. Of all things she can impress Nozomi’s mother in, she is not able to do so in the culinary field. All the thoughts of the burnt yakinuku, instant udon and especially that time when she cut her finger just by slicing tofu comes back to her head, haunting her. 

“Elicchi is not a good cook.” Nozomi says with a proud grin, and Eli quickly drawls her hand away from Nozomi, puffing her chest out and folding her arms together.

“Elicchi! Come back!” Nozomi holds out her hands and pouts as she tries to win back Eli’s affection. It is as if she forgotten that her mother is still beside her, and witnessing her actions. Her mother lets out a hearty laughter, bringing Nozomi back to her senses. 

“How cute.” She says. “Well, it doesn’t matter if she isn’t a good cook, as long as she’s able to cook sufficiently to feed herself that’s enough!” 

“Yeah, and she’s a very responsible and hard-working student council president too, so that makes up for it.” Nozomi said with a grin. 

“Nozomi…” Eli drawls out, feeling shy from Nozomi’s compliment. 

Just then, a huge thunder clap comes from outside, threatening to break out into a heavy rain. No sooner did the sinister-looking clouds start to give way, pouring wildly. 

“Oh my, that was so sudden.” Nozomi’s mother commented, looking out at the window outside. She turns back to Nozomi and Eli, and gives a gentle smile to Eli. “Why don’t you stay for the night, Ayase-san? You can’t go home with the weather outside like that.” 

“Ah, no it’s okay! I live nearby anyway.” Eli raises her arms to protest. 

“No, please. An umbrella isn’t enough to shelter you. Let your parent know that you’re staying here tonight.” She insisted. 

“I guess so… Sorry to intrude.” Eli mutters apologetically.

“It’s alright, I was intruding actually, not telling Non-chan that I am coming to visit.” 

“No, don’t say that…” Eli mutters. 

“I’ll set up a mattress in the living room, you two can sleep in Non-chan’s bedroom—oh but don’t use this as an excuse to fool around! You two may be girls, but sexual intimacies work the same.” Her mother winks. 

“Mou, mama!” Nozomi bursts out, feeling her cheeks go red from her mother’s mouth that is quite unfiltered. 

* * *

“Nozomi, come here, please.” Eli whines, as she pulls up Nozomi’s sheets all the way up to her neck, with a timid look on her face. She sees the totoro soft toy that she had gotten Nozomi, and her heart flutters at the sight of it on the bed. She takes it and squeezes it gently, while waiting for the purple-haired girl to join her on the bed.

Nozomi combs her long purple hair with her fingers as she takes a glance to look at the usually cool and confident Eli hiding under her sheets. She must be afraid of the dimmed lights in the room along with the thunderstorm outside. “Heh, you’re cute like that.” 

“Mou, stop making fun of me!” The blonde exclaims, clasping her hands to her ears as a flash of lightning appears, signalling another thunder clap that is about to happen. 

“Hai hai, let me just change!”

Eli turns to the side slightly, looking at Nozomi who is standing in her undies, and as her hands move to her back to unclasp her bra, she quickly turns back bashfully. They have been in close proximity in the fitting room during their date earlier, but this time Nozomi is baring her body and she couldn’t be so shameless to look. 

“Hm, should I call you Elicchi or Ecchi?” Nozomi says, with a sly tone. 

“Eh?” Eli replies, still averting her glance away from the purple-haired girl. 

“I saw you staring.” Nozomi answers. 

Eli carefully turns back, and sees that Nozomi has already put on an oversized t-shirt over. 

“You stared at me when we were in the dressing room too.” Eli quips, pouting slightly. 

“Hehe, how can I not stare at your sexy body?” Nozomi teases, moving close to her bed. Eli shifts to the side little, making space for Nozomi to climb in beside her. 

Soon, Eli feels the warmth from her side, comforting her and easing her mind after being worried about being in the dark and the rain outside. She considers snuggling up to her crush, but the fact that they are so close to each other on a bed just intimidated her a lot. They slept together on the same bed before, but nothing happened then—they were still in the midst of sorting out their emotions, and solely slept beside each other to rest, without any of that snuggling or bedroom talk. Before Eli can consider any further, Nozomi’s arms go around Eli, pulling her in close to her. Eli can feel her heart pick up pace, and chews on her lips as she slowly leans in to Nozomi, putting her head in the crook of her neck. She inhales Nozomi’s sweet scent, calming her down. She can get used to this. 

“Your mom is quite nice.” Eli breathes out, remembering the interactions between them and Nozomi’s mother. 

“Mou, she’s so embarrassing. She’s rarely like that.” Nozomi replies with a sigh.

“At least she was so accepting about us.” Eli says. It is nice that Nozomi’s mother is so open towards the concept of same-sex relationships, and didn’t bat an eyelash about it. Eli isn’t so sure how her own mother, and even Alisa would react if she were to tell them that she is in a relationship with Nozomi. 

“I was surprised too.” Nozomi agrees.

A loud thunder rumbles outside, and Eli ducks her head further into Nozomi’s chest. 

“There there Elicchi, I’m here.” Nozomi cooes, patting the blonde’s arms assuringly. 

Eli looks up at her, donning an unpleasant look on her face. “Don’t treat me like a child.” 

“Is that so?” Nozomi inches closer to Eli’s face, curling her lips up to form a smile. 

Even in the slight darkness, Eli still looks so beautiful, a few strands of her blonde side bangs falling down her face, making her look so much younger and so adorable. Without much thought, Nozomi presses a kiss to her lips, stunning Eli a little. It takes a while before Eli follows suit, kissing her back gently. She smiles softly mid-way, feeling the warmth of Nozomi’s kiss surge through her. Another thunder roars outside, but she doesn’t feel scared anymore, melting into Nozomi’s embrace as they kiss. 

After they pull back, they gaze endearingly into each other’s eyes, before returning to the same position where Nozomi is holding Eli in her arms. 

“Thank you for the date today, Elicchi.” Nozomi whispers gently, her breath tickling Eli’s ears. 

“You too, Nozomi. I had a lot of fun, even if it meant forcing me to parade my body in scandalous outfits.” Eli replies, faking an annoyed tone. 

“Heheh, but I wanted to show off my sexy date!” 

“Mou…” Eli drawls out, pulling the sheets close to her as she feels her cheek heating up from Nozomi’s comment. 

“Anyway, I wonder what people are thinking of my Instagram post!” Nozomi chirps, taking her phone that she placed beside her bed and opening up the app. 

Eli scoots even closer to Nozomi, stretching her neck a little to see Nozomi’s phone together with her. Nozomi presses on the first and only picture she has posted so far, which was of Elibeing oblivious and eating her food at the fast food restaurant. Eli huffs a little, but remains curious of the new comments that have been added to the post. Surprisingly, the picture has 54 likes, and 4 new comments. It is a wonder how Nozomi has managed to get so many followers within less than a day, especially when she didn’t even follow anyone else first except Umi, Kotori and Honoka. 

The first comment is from _sono-umi-dah,_ and it said, _“fuwa fuwa it’s a date!! love arrow shoot!!” ,_ followed by an emoji with a heart shape with an arrow struck across it. 

This causes both Nozomi and Eli to raise their brows at the same time, because it is weird that Umi would type in this manner. They go over to the second comment, and it is by _sono-umi-dah_ again. _“I’m sorry! That was Kotori, I apologise for her indecent comment!”_

The both of them give each other a knowing glance and smile, knowing that Kotori and Umi’s relationship are quite strong on their side, with Kotori hacking Umi’s account and using it to comment. 

The third comment is from _superloveidol_niconi,_ and they didn’t even have to guess to know who that is. “ _great, i knew you two were yuri too. i wonder what happens in the student council room.”_

“You’re blocking her.” Eli mentions with a grunt. 

“Wouldn’t expect any less from Nicocchi!” Nozomi replies, seemingly unbothered by that comment. 

The fourth comment is from one of their other second-year student council member, commenting “Omg really?” And it was probably with regards to Nico’s comment on the post. The last comment is from another person they didn’t know, but judging from the blue ribbon on their Otonokizaka uniform, it was a first-year. Her comment was, _“Nozoeli!!!”_

Nozoeli… Eli mouths the word slowly, until she finally realises that it is the mashup of her name with Nozomi’s. Instantly, she feels a blush rush to her cheeks, and her gaze matches Nozomi’s, who seems to be smiling to herself. 

“We have quite an influence with the people in our school, huh.” Nozomi says cheekily. 

Eli lets out a sigh. “Yeah, that’s what we get for our leadership reputation in the school. It’s going to be hard keeping our relationship a secret.” 

“We have a relationship?” Nozomi questions. 

“Well, we went on a date.” Eli says shyly. 

“That’s true.” Nozomi smiles, locking her phone and placing it back on the table beside her bed, holding Eli in both arms now. 

“No-nozomi.” Eli breathes out, snuggling into Nozomi. Underneath the sheets, their thighs start to make contact with each other’s, until Eli shifts her leg and tangles it with Nozomi’s, feeling the softness of her legs on hers. 

“I’m so happy I met you, Elicchi.” Nozomi breathes out, her fingers lacing with Eli’s soft blonde hair. 

“Me too, Nozomi.” Eli answers softly, wrapping her arms around Nozomi’s waist, snuggling into her completely. 

Although they haven’t officially discussed being each other’s girlfriends yet, the both of them know that they didn’t need words, and will slowly take deepen their relationship in little steps.With the raucous pattering of the rain on the windowsill outside, the air in the room where Nozomi and Eli are sharing remain calm, and well-inviting for a restful slumber as the both of them drift off to sleep in each other’s arms. 


	16. Chapter 16

16\. Baby, just believe. There’s no one else like me.

 

After the weekend, Nozomi’s mother left to go back to America to get back on the cruise ship again. Although Eli has been finding herself under the constant wrath of the older Toujou’s relentless teasing of their relationship, she liked her a lot and wished she could spend more time in Japan. She also knows that Nozomi would have liked her own mother to be with her longer. However, it seems that Nozomi is already happy enough and the separation between mother and daughter wasn’t as upsetting as the first day that Nozomi moved in.

A month passes, and it springs into mid-October. 

Nozomi and Eli are in the student council room after classes has ended for the day, working on their respective student council duties. Eli is writing out the council duty schedule on the whiteboard with a marker as Nozomi settles some paperwork around the desks. 

“Do we have any other events coming up before the end of the school year next Spring?” Nozomi asks, glancing through the neatly written words on the whiteboard. At the same time, she can’t help but to lower her gaze as well and check out the shape of her crush's cute butt that is framed nicely to the width of the school skirt. 

Eli whips around to face Nozomi, a frown encompassing her face as she realises where the purple-haired girl is looking. “Eyes are up here, Nozomi.”

“Oh! Up there? You mean at your boobies?” Nozomi chuckles, deepening her gaze at Eli’s chest through the uniform top. 

“Seriously, Nozomi. Stop fooling around!” Eli barks out, slightly flustered as she buttons her blazer together, concealing most of the white uniform top underneath, much to Nozomi’s dismay. “Anyway, there’s nothing much except a school christmas party, the graduation ceremony for the third years and the admissions for the future first years.” 

_Future first years…_ The corner of Eli’s lips quirk to form a smile at the thought of the student council—well mostly her and Nozomi’s efforts to promote the school with the past events and getting more exposure, especially for the current final year middle school students to enter the school next Spring. 

“Hmm, are you sure that’s all?” Nozomi creases her brow. She knows that on the 21st of October, it is Eli’s birthday and it’s time she starts planning something for her. 

At the moment, the blonde puts back the cap on her marker, allowing it to rest on the marker stand by the whiteboard. She lets out a sigh and shakes her head almost dejectedly. 

“Well there’s a non-compulsory Halloween event that the council used to organise too.”

“Don’t tell me, Eli purposely missed out on talking about a Halloween event at first because she’s a scaredy cat?” 

Eli gulps, and her frantic eyes dart around the room. Nozomi looks on teasingly, and Eli sighs in defeat. “Well, you’re right. They can open the school till late at night on Halloween and have a Halloween party or even a—” She inhales sharply, clenching her fist lightly. “A haunted house.” 

“Haunted house…” Nozomi grins, recalling the time when they set up a haunted house in their own classroom. 

“Mou, but this event isn’t compulsory! Besides, they didn’t have it last year because there was a poll conducted and the students weren’t really interested in it. They said that Otonokizaka was already old enough to be a haunted house on its own.” 

“Really, they said that?” Nozomi answers, slightly amused. “I think Otonokizaka is a lovely school though.” 

Eli walks back to the table, and takes her seat beside Nozomi. “Not too many people might think the same way you do though. It is an old school with a highly traditional culture that seems too much for the younger generation these days.” 

Nozomi smiles and rests her head on the crook of her blonde’s neck. “You don’t have to worry Elicchi, you’re doing well for the school.” 

“I could say the same for you too considering you just transferred here.” Eli replies softly, feeling the warmth of the purple-haired girl by her side. 

Eli begins to feel a twinge in her back, and she knocks at the spot lightly with her fist, her eyes wincing at little as she feels the soreness overcome her body. 

Nozomi looks at her, her eyebrow arching in concern. “Hm? You got a backache?” 

“Ah—” Eli purses her lips as she attempts to massage herself with one hand. “I think I didn’t sleep properly last night, I was reading up for the test next week and I fell asleep while doing so.” 

Nozomi giggles and shakes her head in adoration of the girl she loves. Eli is always so studious and hardworking but can be silly at times. She gets up of her seat and positions herself behind the blonde, brushing her ponytail and leaving it to settle on her right shoulder. Stealthily, Nozomi begins to place two hands in the place where Eli was rubbing at earlier. 

“Nozomi! What are yo—Ahhhh…”

Before Eli can ask Nozomi what she is doing, a satisfied moan escapes her throat as Nozomi begins to massage the area.

“Did I get the spot?” Nozomi says with a whisper, applying a stronger pressure onto her back.

“Yes… Ahh that feels so good…” Eli arches her neck into the back of the seat, enjoying the sudden relief on her back.

As Nozomi continues to massage Eli’s back, she leans closer and inhales the citrusy shampoo scent from her hair. She goes closer, until her lips are just inches away from her neck. Right now, at this very moment, she wants to kiss her. Without much thought, she lifts up one hand; while making sure her other hand is still massaging her, and tugs at the collar of her white uniform top underneath her blazer, pulling the collar down a little to expose a bit of her smooth skin. 

“Nozomi? What are you doing?!” Eli exclaims, her tone of her voice sounding cautious and wary. 

Ignoring Eli, Nozomi continues to lean in fully until her lips touches Eli’s skin. She presses a kiss to it, causing the blonde to fidget a little. “Making your backache better.” Nozomi speaks, barely a whisper as she pulls back and looks at the spot she kissed with a content smile on her face. 

All too soon, Eli forgets about the pain in her back as the feeling of Nozomi’s lips against an intimate spot on her body replaces it. She licks her lips that has gone dry from being so tense.

“No…Nozomi, but that was my neck, not my back.” Eli attempts to put on a serious tone, to hide the fact that she actually liked the kiss, despite it being bold and forward especially in a place like the school. 

“Hehe, but I’m sure I still made it better somehow!” Nozomi chants out happily. 

Just then, a knock from the door startles both girls and Eli clears her throat before asking, “Who’s there?”

“It’s the Principal.” The voice of the older woman surfaces from outside the student council room. 

Eli feels her cheek growing warm from Principal Minami’s appearance, considering the fact that the both of them have been in such an intimate position just barely seconds before. 

“Please come in!” Eli says, and the door swings open, with the Principal walking in with a stack of papers on her hand. 

“Good afternoon girls, here is a sample admission form from last year, I need you to update the information for the upcoming admissions and hand it back to me.” Principal Minami explains, passing the papers in her hand to Eli. Noticing how Eli’s glance keeps darting around anxiously, she shoots her a concerned look. “Are you okay, Ayase-san? Are you sick?” 

Eli matches the Principal’s gaze and waves her hand around. “I’m alright, thanks for your concern!” 

The Principal looks to Nozomi and then back at Eli, seemingly unconvinced. “I think you two should go back home soon. I understand how council work might be pilling up alongside your school work and I appreciate how much you two are doing so go home and get some rest!” 

“Ah, we will. We’re glad to do this much for the school.” Nozomi nods politely. 

“You both are looking red in the cheeks as well. Kotori’s friend Umi has that a lot recently too whenever I pass by them in school and she says it is just a heat rash. I hope you two don’t have it too, please take good care of yourselves.” 

Nozomi and Eli look back at each other with nervous smiles to match their glance, and they turn back to Principal Minami. “We will.”

“Thank you for your good work then. And Ayase-san—” She points to the area near Eli’s shoulders. “Your collar is out.” 

“Ah, sorry!” Eli widens her eyes frantically, forgetting to adjust her top after Nozomi has messed around with it earlier. She quickly folds the collar back neatly and lets out the breath she has been holding in once she is done. 

After Principal Minami leaves the student council room, Eli shoots Nozomi a glare, and the purple-haired girl simply cups her hands to her mouth as she giggles cheekily. “Mou, be more aware of your surroundings next time!” She chides, much to an unbothered Nozomi. 

“It’s not just us. Kotori-chan might have been getting cosy with Umi-chan on the school grounds as well, making her blush and lie that it is a heat rash.” Nozomi says. 

“Maybe she really has a heat rash?” Eli asks. 

“Silly Elicchi, it’s Autumn! Having a heat rash is impossible.” 

Eli sighs in defeat. “Yeah, that is quite true.”

* * *

It is 4PM by the time Nozomi and Eli finish the remainder of their student council duties. As they walk out of school, they see Kotori and Umi walking together and catch up to them.

“Going home so late?” Nozomi asks.

“Umi-chan had archery practice today.” Kotori answers on Umi’s behalf without any hesitation. 

Nozomi and Eli quickly glance at each other, knowing how adorable that their juniors are already acting so domestic in their relationship. 

“Wow, you waited for her to finish?” Eli adds on.

Kotori looks at Umi with a tender gaze, admiring the side profile of her blue-haired girlfriend. “Hehe, I like watching Umi-chan during her practice, she’s so cool!” 

Upon hearing that, Umi’s face turn a bright shade of red and lowers her head with a shy smile. 

“Ooh! Got the heat rash?” Nozomi teases, poking at Umi’s hot cheeks. 

“Ehh? Heat rash? How did you two know?” Umi appears slightly taken aback. 

“Eheh, we have our ways.” Nozomi winks, and Eli punches her sides. 

“Mou, stop teasing them already Nozomi!” The blonde lectures playfully, shooting an apologetic look at the flustered blue-haired girl. 

Kotori chuckles lightly, knowing the true meaning behind the “heat rash” that is being mentioned. She then looks back at her two seniors, cocking her head slightly as she seems to be observing something about them. 

“Kotori?” Umi asks, following Kotori’s glance. 

“I’ve never noticed this before, but Eli-chan is taller than Nozomi-chan. The height difference is so cute!” Kotori’s amber eyes glimmer as she gushes about them. 

“Well, it’s only by a little bit!” Nozomi says indignantly. Her hands go to Eli’s ponytail and grabs it in her hand. “She only looks so much taller because her ponytail is so high!” 

“Face it, Nozomi. You’re shorter.” Eli winks at the purple-haired beside her, purposely tilting her head downwards in an exaggerated manner to spite her. 

“Hmph Elicchi is a meanie!”

* * *

The four of them end up walking home together since it is on the way, but they often find themselves walking in pairs, just like a double date. Nozomi and Eli walk behind them, much to Nozomi’s insistence because she wants to ‘spy’ them despite the fact that Umi and Kotori are already together, and have even gone way further than Nozomi and Eli since they have pretty much established themselves as girlfriends. At times, Kotori will catch Umi’s fingers in her hands and play with it as they walk, though Umi seems to have moments where she will freeze up from the action. That poor girl still needs to be more confident in terms of being on the receiving end of romantic gestures.

As they pass by the Kanda shrine to go down the steps leading to the streets, Nozomi stops in her tracks when she sees a poster pasted on the column by the shrine. Intrigued, she goes closer to it and the three other girls follow her. 

On the poster are the words ‘ _Autumn Firework Festival… 12 October’._

“Fireworks in Autumn and in a shrine? That’s interesting!” Nozomi exclaims excitedly. 

“I went for the one last year with my family. There are food stalls and game booths too so it’s quite fun.” Umi comments. 

Noticing Nozomi’s enthusiasm, Eli speaks up, “Shall we go together? It’s tomorrow night right? We can ask Honoka and Nico along too!” 

“That’s great! I can add them into our chat group!” Kotori clasps her hands eagerly. 

“Yeah, it could feel different this year now that I’m going with all of you.” Umi smiles. 

Nozomi looks at them, and then at Eli with a warm, liquid gaze. Even though Eli hasn’t outright said so, Nozomi’s heart flutters from the blonde’s thoughtfulness, knowing that she’d love nothing more than to spend an occasion at one of her favourite places which is the shrine, and having her friends around her to do so too.

* * *

Minami Kotori added Yazawa Nico into the chat.

Minami Kotori added Kousaka Honoka into the chat. 

Yazawa Nico (5.01PM): what is this????? an idol is too busy to handle unnecessary chats like these. 

Ayase Eli (5.01PM): We were thinking of asking you two along to the Kanda Shrine’s Firework Festival tomorrow!

Yazawa Nico has left the group. 

Eli shakes her head upon seeing the notification that Nico has left the group. That idol-obsessed girl is always trying to put up a stoic act, for reasons uncertain. 

Ayase Eli (5.02PM): Well…

Kousaka Honoka (5.02PM): dont worry about it! nico is actually beside me now and trying to peek at my phone DJSKAOP

Minami Kotori (5.02PM): honoka chan? ◉⌓◉

Sonoda Umi (5.02PM): Honoka? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.02PM): i think nicocchi has kidnapped honoka 

Sonoda Umi (5.02PM): Seriously… We’re trying to make plans here and they disappeared.

Minami Kotori (5.03PM): Don’t worry umi-chan, i’m sure honoka will reply soon (＾▽＾)

Sonoda Umi (5.03PM): I guess you’re right… 

Eli puts down her phone for a while to untie her ponytail and loosen out her hair, when the next notification from her phone comes in. 

Kousaka Honoka (5.06PM): soooorrrryyyy!!!! nico took my phone and wanted to use it to text you all but i kept running away from her to stop her from taking it!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.06PM): its nicocchi’s fault for leaving the group (￣ω￣)

Eli sighs and presses the add member button on her chat screen, taking it upon herself to add Nico back into the group. 

Ayase Eli added Yazawa Nico into the chat.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.07PM): you better not leave this time nicocchi or ill washi washi u when i see u in school tomorrow!

Sonoda Umi (5.07PM): What’s washi washi?

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.07PM): oh ill let u know what it is ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Kousaka Honoka (5.07PM): Whaaaaaat

Minami Kotori (5.08PM): hey what are you doing to my umi chan (๑◕︵◕๑)

Eli shakes her head from Nozomi’s texts, and types her reply. 

Ayase Eli (5.08PM): Stop scaring them, Nozomi. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.08PM): aww elicchi, are u jealous? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.08PM): dont worry u’ll be the only one i’ll ever enjoy giving washi washi’s too ;) 

Eli can feel her cheeks burning even though she’s alone, and her fingers go over to the letters on her phone when a new person typing stops her from doing so. 

_Yazawa Nico is typing…_

Yazawa Nico (5.09PM): UNNECESSARY. TALK. 

Yazawa Nico has left the group.

Minami Kotori (5.09PM): (๑◕︵◕๑)

Sonoda Umi (5.09PM): Here we go again… 

Kousaka Honoka (5.09PM): she’s really not angry! she’s still seeing what i’m typing here iodajsdnadj;

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (5.10PM): she has kidnapped honoka again!

Eli sighs, and adds Nico into the group again.

Ayase Eli added Yazawa Nico into the chat. 

Ayase Eli (5.10PM): No more leaving, Nico! We’re planning a hangout together tomorrow evening and we want you to come as well. 

Kousaka Honoka (5.11PM): yeah!!!!! u can’t defy the student council president!!!

Yazawa Nico (5.11PM): Guess it can’t be helped. it better be good

Minami Kotori (5.11PM): yay!!! tomorrow night is going to be fun! (＾▽＾)

* * *

“Ah, seeing you going out at night like this is such a rare sight.” Eli’s mother says, while Eli gets ready to step out of her house.

“Mou, you make it sound like I never have friends.” 

Her mother widens her eyes. “Its true! I think even Alisa went out with her friends more times than you did last year.” 

Eli sighs, and shakes her head with a light smile. “Hai, hai. I’m more sociable now okay? You don’t have to worry about a thing.” 

“You always make me worry, my dear Elichika. Already a teenager but I have to look out for you all the time.” 

“Oka-san, say anymore and I’ll be late!” Eli chides playfully. 

“Okay, okay. Have fun!” 

* * *

As soon as Eli sees Kotori and Umi standing by the side of the entrance of the shrine, she knows that she has underdressed. Or perhaps, not even dressed well enough to suit the nature of the event. Kotori and Umi are both in yukatas—Kotori in a pink floral one with a red ribbon robe on her back, and Umi with a pale blue floral one as well. Their hairs are matching, with parts of their hair tied into a braid across their hair, leaving the rest of their hairs flowing down their back effortlessly. Eli can’t help but to be awe-struck by the sight of their juniors. They are both so matching, and so beautiful together. With her own casual jeans and coat, Eli is definitely not going to be able to match up to whatever Nozomi will be dressed in.

“Hey, thank you for waiting.” Eli approaches them meekly, still silently cursing herself for how she is dressed. 

“Ah it’s okay! Nico and Honoka-chan are still on their way!” Kotori assures. 

“I think Nozomi should be here soon too.” Eli smiles weakly. “You two look beautiful.” 

“That’s too nice, thank you.” Umi blushes, the thought of being complimented by the student council president and senior. 

“I told you to put aside the formalities right?” Eli winks, feeling herself relax a little. 

“Right… Thanks, Eli.”

“Ah, I see Nozomi-chan over there!” Kotori points out to behind Eli, and Eli inhales sharply before turning around to see her. 

And she is right. Eli doesn’t match Nozomi at all. However, her mind is consumed by the sight of her, and she gulps as she looks at the figure approaching towards them, as if like a maiden sent from the heavens. Nozomi is dressed in a yukata—obviously. She dons apurple yukata to match her hair which is tied up in a side bun and secured with two purple pins, while leaving her wispy bangs out across her forehead. The tight ensemble makes Nozomi’s curves and figure stand out more, and despite the fact that it should be a more traditional and reserved outfit, Eli actually feels herself heating up from the sight of Nozomi in it. Her turquoise eyes seem to stand out a lot even against the darkened shy and she is so mesmerising and breathtaking. 

When Nozomi comes closer into sight, Eli paces herself and smiles at her. She wants to tell her she’s beautiful, but the words can’t quite come out of her mouth because now that Nozomi is closer, she can only feel her heart beating out of her chest, unable to summon a word. 

“Mou, Elicchi… Always the outstandingly dressed one huh?” Nozomi starts to speak, a grin forming on her face. 

“To be fair I’m not quite sure of the procedure of these things…” Eli speaks up in defence.

“What a foreigner!” Nozomi chants out, playing with Eli’s long blonde hair that is flowing behind her. 

On a side note, Nozomi and her teasing remarks remain the same despite how beautiful and demure she looks in the yukata. 

“I think I see Nico and Honoka too.” Umi says, diverting all of their attention to where Honoka and a shorter black-haired girl are as they walk side-by-side. 

Eli heaves a sigh of relief as she sees that Honoka is in normal clothing as well, but when she sees that even Nico of all people is in a yukata, she starts to feel sorry for herself. Even someone who acted like they didn’t care for this even has even made an effort to dress according to it. 

“Wow Nicocchi you look cute!” Nozomi exclaims. 

Nico looks as if she wants to accept the compliment, but she purses her lips and huffs, folding her arms together. “Hmph! Contrary to popular belief an idol must still look cute even in traditional outfits!” 

“I wanted to wear my yukata, but it was getting too troublesome to wear it and I was going to be late.” Honoka sheepishly says. She then looks at Eli who is in a non-traditional clothing too and quickly runs over to her, putting her arms around her. “But at least I’m not alone!” 

Eli gives a crooked smile, acknowledging Honoka’s comment. She was glad that at least Honoka is in the similar situation too, but a part of her is not ready to forgive herself for not matching the breathtaking Nozomi. 

* * *

The courtyard of the shrine is big enough to hold various stalls around the place. There are many stalls, ranging from snacks, drinks, souvenirs and charms provided from the shrine. In the middle, the space is kept empty for a mini floating platform, providing the shrine its main source of entertainment for the festival before the fireworks would begin. Not long would they break up into their respective pairs as they explore the parts of the shrine—Kotori and Umi are at the courtyard appreciating the floating display, Nico and Honoka are busy trying out food and drinks along the stalls, while Nozomi and Eli are in front of the area where the wooden plaques are hung up. They read through some wishes, and it only reminds Eli of the time when Nozomi wished for the culture festival to go smoothly for the both of them. Right now, Eli wishes she could tell Nozomi she looked so beautiful.

“So cute nya!” A high-pitched voice surfaces from near them. 

The both of them, intrigued by the cat-like mannerism in the girl’s voice, turn to where the sound came from. 

A girl with short orange hair has her hands clasped excitedly as she looks at the wooden plaque before her, and the girl next to her who has shoulder-length brown hair and spectacles is smiling and nodding meekly. Although it’s already night time, the both of them are still in their school uniforms, and Eli recognises the blue and white middle school uniform easily as it is her sister’s school as well. They are probably the final year students of that school though, judging by their slightly mature pre-teen appearance for middle school students. 

“I’m happy we both want to go to the same school.” The bespectacled girl says, though her voice is so soft it is almost inaudible. 

“Let’s hope we both end up in Otonokizaka nya!” The hyper cat-like girl exclaims, and the mention of Otonokizaka immediately gets Nozomi and Eli’s full attention. 

Those two girls actually wished to go to Otonokizaka. It is like they have their minds set on going there and it is an unbelievable thing to notice, since most middle school students are more attracted to the newer and better equipped school like UTX Academy in Akihabara. 

“Hearing that is a nice thing isn’t it.” Nozomi gives a a squinty-eyed smile. 

“It is indeed. I never thought girls would actually wish to go there.” 

Just then, Nozomi and Eli are joined by Nico and Honoka, with Nico being the one to drag Honoka to where they are. 

“Nico?” Eli asks, wondering where the energy from the black-haired girl is suddenly coming from. 

“Do you mean Nico Nico Nii!!!!!” Nico pipes up, doing her signature hand pose as well. 

“Is Nicocchi drunk?” Nozomi giggles. 

“Drunk on Amazake…” Honoka mutters, embarrassed by her friend’s actions. 

“Amazake, really?” Eli’s eyebrows furrow. “She got drunk on a non-alcoholic sake.” 

“I’m not drunk!” Nico shouts, her fingers still joined to show her nico nico nii pose. 

“Silly Nicocchi, you can’t get drunk on amazake!” Nozomi teases, much to the shorter girl’s chagrin. 

“Hmph! Whatever you say! Anyway I saw this very pretty red hair girl just now, I wonder where she has gone.” Nico quips, looking around for the mysterious red hair person she mentioned.

“Ehh? You actually admire someone?” Nozomi leans in to Nico, raising her eyebrows with a sly grin. 

“But she was cute! Not as cute as me though.” 

Coincidentally, a girl with red hair tied into a bun walks past them, joining the cat-like girl and bespectacled girl near the wooden plaques. Just like the two of them, she is also in the same middle school uniform.

“That’s her!” Nico points to her as she hops on her sandals.

“Ahhh Maki Maki Maki! Thanks for getting the amazakes for us!” The cat-like girl bounces happily as she receives the drink from her. 

“Eh, it’s whatever.” The red-haired girl whose name is probably Maki answers almost unenthusiastically.

Most of the conversation between the middle-school girls grow hush, probably because the red-haired girl seems to be uninterested in a lot of stuff, but Eli figures it’s probably just because of her personality that reminds her of Nico. Perhaps that is why Nico seems so attracted to her. 

Their company is extended by Kotori and Umi’s appearance. 

“It’s about time for the fireworks. We should go and view them now.” Umi says. 

All six girls go on to the back of the shrine where the fireworks display would be held. Although they stand together as a group, they remain in their pairs, each with individual conversations going on between them. Nico and Honoka are bickering among each other as usual, though at times Nico would talk about the red-haired girl in between. Kotori and Umi seem to get close, though most of it had been Kotori’s initiation so far. However, Umi deals with the more subtle romantic gesture of things, such as tucking a strand of hair behind Kotori’s ear, or how her amber eyes would gaze lovingly into similarly coloured ones on Kotori. 

As Nozomi and Eli stand beside each other, Nozomi slides her hand into Eli’s, lacing her fingers tight together with hers. 

“Thank you for suggesting to come here.” Nozomi says, her voice deep and her usual kansai dialect diminishing. 

“No problem, it makes you happy so that’s good.” Eli replies, squeezing Nozomi’s hand. 

The first wave of fireworks begin, exploding and filling the darkened sky with a myriad of colours. The cool Autumn breeze flutters in the air, making it a rather pleasant night to be viewing such an incredible sight. The next wave continues, and more people cheer alongside them. The corners of Eli’s eyes turn to look at the purple-haired girl beside her, her side profile looking just as beautiful as well. She decides to just do it. She can’t keep chickening out especially when they’re dating anyway. 

“Hey, Nozomi.” Eli calls out softly. 

Turquoise eyes fleet to match her gaze, and Eli swallows her breath as she stares at Nozomi, transfixed by her beauty. She takes another deep breath before continuing, “You’re beautiful.” 

“Mou…” Nozomi drawls out, her cheeks turning rosy. “So romantic huh, Elicchi.” 

“I have been wanting to tell you that since the first step you took into the shrine just now.” 

“Aw Elicchi, you’re making me have a heat rash.” 

Of course, trust Nozomi to ruin a perfectly romantic moment with dumb references to situations. 

The third wave of fireworks ensue, and Eli feels the warmth of the purple-haired girl beside her grow more as she gravitates closer to her. Nozomi places her head on Eli’s shoulders, and Eli leans into her head, wanting to stay like this forever. 

* * *

It is 11PM by the time Nozomi goes home from the Autumn festival. It has been a tiring day, coupled with school and the night’s festivities but she is pleasantly exuberant from being exhausted. She actually had a day full of plans with people she could call her friends, and none of this ever happened in her life before coming to Otonokizaka. After coming out from the shower and settling into her bed comfortably, she receives a text.

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.43PM): Please sleep early tonight! Today was fun but there’s still school tomorrow.

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ(11.43PM): hai, hai. are u sleeping too?

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.43PM): Probably. Gonna have to read up some notes before I sleep though.

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.44PM): heh you’re gonna wake up with a backache again

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.44PM): That is true. But I feel horrible since I haven’t done any revision today!

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.44PM): always so hardworking aren’t you (＾▽＾)

There is no way Nozomi is letting Eli sleep in an uncomfortable manner again. Sure, Eli might have an excuse to get more back rubs from Nozomi and she would be more than willing to help her with it, but in the long run it wouldn’t be good for Eli’s body entirely. 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.46PM): do u want to video call before we sleep?

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.46PM): Sure, let me just get on bed. 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.46PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.46PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (11.46PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.47PM): STOP!

elicchi (´∀｀) (11.47PM): Okay I’m calling you now. 

Nozomi receives the call instantly, admiring the contact photo she set of Eli on her phone before answering it. The video flickers a bit, before displaying Eli who is lying on her bed on her side. 

“Isn’t someone all snuggly under the covers already?” Nozomi says, looking at the blonde who couldn't look any cuter in this manner. 

“Yeah, aren’t you too?” Eli responds, her voice slightly muffled from the weak connection established between them. It takeswhile before the resolution on the phone screen becomes higher and the voice becomes clearer. 

“So do you want to talk about anything?” Eli suggests.

“I want to talk about why your room is still so bright.” Nozomi questions, realising that there is still a nightlight on by the side of Eli’s bed. Even though it is a night light, the light is so bright that it seems that the whole room is lit up just by that alone. 

Eli frowns and pouts slightly. “You know I’m afraid of the dark, Nozomi.” 

Nozomi hugs her totoro soft toy that Eli given her as she gives a smirk to the girl on the screen. “But you’re not afraid of the dark when you’re sleeping with me.“

“Well, it’s because you were with me.” Eli admits shyly. 

Nozomi chuckles softly. She then has a quick-witted thought and looks at Eli with a glimmer in her eyes. “Why don’t we play truth and truth?” 

“Truth and truth?” Eli repeats. 

“Yeah.” Nozomi agrees. “I ask you something and we both give an answer.” 

At the same time, Nozomi wants to make use of this to find out even more about Eli that can provide her with the inspiration for her birthday plans.

“Sure, but decent questions please.” Eli says. 

“What is your cup size?” Nozomi answers almost immediately, in response to Eli’s request. 

“Nozomi!” Eli yells from the side of her screen, and the shocked look registered on Eli’s face is enough to make Nozomi chuckle. 

“Okay, what is your favourite colour?” Nozomi asks in a more serious tone this time.

“Seriously?” Eli beetles her forehead. 

“Yeah, mine is light blue, what about you?” Nozomi questions. 

“Mine’s purple.” 

“What is your favourite kind of chocolate?” 

“Dark chocolate.” Eli responds almost instantly, jerking closer to the screen at the mention of chocolates. 

“I like dark chocolates too.” 

“Favourite family past time.” 

“Hmm…” Eli thinks. “I think I used to enjoy making Russian dishes together with my grandma whenever we went to Russia to visit.” 

“You cooked food? But you’re such horrible cook.” Nozomi teases. 

“Well, my grandmother did most of the cooking in the end.” Eli says with a sheepish smile. 

The screen lags for a while, and once it goes back to normal Nozomi begins her own response. 

“My favourite childhood past time is when my papa and mama brought me to the aquarium in Okinawa and we swam with the dolphins together. It was the only day my parents took their time off to spend with me so I was quite happy.” 

Nozomi smiles as she recalls the memory. She was only seven years old back then, and to think she was already moving around with her parents for so long since a tender young age gives her a melancholic feeling. She is glad she doesn’t have to face that now. 

“Why are you scared of the dark, Elicchi?” She asks a new question.

At the moment, Eli’s mouth closes and her eyebrows grow taut. It might have been a question that probes a deeper answer to it judging by her reaction.

“Ah, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me!” Nozomi assures, smiling widely. 

“No, it’s okay Nozomi. You deserve to know.” Eli says. 

“The reason why I’m so scared of the dark is because of my ballet competitions in Russia back then.” Nozomi watches as Eli’s chest rises beneath the sheets, and she continues to say, “When I was performing the whole spotlight was on me, and it felt great to be dancing under it. It made me feel special and gave me a lot of hope. But when the results came and my name was’t called, I stood by my grandmother and cried so hard and for so long. The auditorium was already empty, and the lights were all off. I was supposed to leave the area, but I couldn't stop crying. When I finally stopped crying, I opened my eyes to see the whole room covered in darkness, and it scared me a lot. It’s as if it is telling me that my dreams for ballet has ended.”

When Eli narrates her experience, an unspoken uneasy feeling tugs at the heartstrings of Nozomi, and she feels herself getting emotional for her too. 

“And so from then on, I developed a phobia for darkness, so I can hardly feel calm in a dark room.” 

“Elicchi…” Nozomi drawls out, her hand reaching to touch the screen with the blonde in it. Eli always acts cool and composed, the role model of many students in the school. However, now that Eli has poured out her insecurities to her, Nozomi knows that deep down she is also a girl who is afraid of something because of a shattered dream. 

Eli breathes in and exhales on her screen, relaxing herself and curling her lips up to form a light smile. "Alright, next question!" 

“Elicchi, will you be my girlfriend?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi!! (＾▽＾) Okay so I based the yukatas on the cards from LLSIF. 
> 
> For Nozomi's yukata it is from: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5b/47/c7/5b47c78c5aabd15e4dff9f2024ceda12--anime-love-festival.jpg (ugh my baby is so adorable)
> 
> As for Nico's it is from: http://i.schoolido.lu/cards/154Nico.png (ok her two buns are so cute??)
> 
> And finally KotoUmi's UR yukata pair aka the UR pair i'm so in love with bc they look so beautiful??? : http://imgur.com/yxwlWFD 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)


	17. Chapter 17

17\. It’s time to fall into my arms, cause I've been waiting for too long.

 

Nozomi arrives at school earlier than usual, and goes to the student council room to chill out for a bit before heading to her first class of the day. Since Eli isn’t there yet, a grin forms on her face as she takes out her phone and sees if she can get any ideas to plan Eli’s birthday from researching on the Internet. Despite knowing a bit about her from yesterday’s video call, she still can’t quite gauge how to exactly fit it all into a birthday surprise.

Nozomi begins to type in “birthday surprise ideas” into the search bar, and although the suggestions came out to be fun and interesting, they weren’t exactly ideal since Eli’s birthday next week is going to be on a school day, and it is going to be a little hard planning these things around her, especially since she’s going to be around Nozomi most of the time. She grunts softly, and slumps into her chair. This is harder than she thought. _Would Eli like being surprised with balloons, confetti and all that fluffy stuff?_ No, probably not. She would lecture her for being so messy around school property and tell her to clean it up after. She’s the council president after all. _What about a huge birthday surprise around the school lunch table with everyone over there?_ Nozomi shakes her head, sighing lightly. It is nice having everyone erupt into a birthday song just for Eli, but that would be too much attention and the blonde would probably feel uncomfortable seeing her awkward nature with other people she’s not close with and frankly, Nozomi didn’t want so many people crowding around _her_ Eli. The purple-haired girl smiles to herself. As territorial as it sounds, the thought of Eli being hers is already enough to make her giddy with euphoria. 

The phone in Nozomi’s hand vibrates, and she rouses herself back from all the inner happiness she is feeling, only for it to be elevated more with Eli’s text. 

elicchi (´∀｀)♡(8.46AM): I’m reaching soon. :)

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (8.46AM): okay, see u 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (8.46AM): (´∀｀)♡ 

She switches her screen back to the internet browsing screen, and she scrolls more of the different birthday surprise ideas until she stops at a sentence with a hyper link— _planning a birthday for your lover xx_

Maybe that would be a more appropriate and easier place to browse the ideas. She then clicks on the link, and waits for it to load. Little does she know, the website she entered is an erotic website. There are half-naked girls who are sitting down with their legs apart—a highly suggestive position indeed, and Nozomi has to close one eye while still giving it a chance and scrolling through the website. The suggestions on the website are to _“how to give the best birthday smash to ur man” and even “how to blow it real good and surprise him”._ This doesn’t even apply to her, she’s with a girl and the only thing she’ll ever want Eli to blow on her birthday is the candles on her birthday cake. Nevertheless, there’s something about the website that intrigues Nozomi and she desperately hopes to find a meaningful birthday surprise idea from her. She sees a ‘yuri’ section and clicks on it, seeing that it’s probably relatable. There are girls now in provocative positions with each other, and they are fully naked this time. Nozomi has to chew on her lip not from arousal, but from being so embarrassed viewing such lewd content in the confines of the student council room. She scrolls further, and sees the suggestion, _“tie her in balloons and feed her her birthday cake”._ Well, the birthday cake mentioned certainly has a deeper meaning to it because the image along with the suggestion is of a girl putting her crotch in front of another girl’s mouth, while she is being tied by balloons around her. 

Suddenly, Nozomi’s phone screen turns black, and she stares back at it in shock, hoping the website didn’t have any viruses, causing her phone to jam. Little does she knows, a visual comes out, and a video starts playing. Her phone isn’t silent yet and neither is her volume being turned all the way down, so the sounds of moans and erotic music are already being played through the speakers of her phone. Her heart starts to pound immediately as her frantic fingers push the volume button down on her phone, and quitting the video that popped up without any warning. And it’s just nice that the door to the student council room opens and the girl with blonde hair walks in. 

“Ohayo, Nozomi!” Eli greets with a radiant smile. 

“O-o-ohayo…” Nozomi gulps, quickly sliding her phone back into her school bag. 

It’s an unusual reaction from the purple-haired girl, and Eli moves closer to her with a tight and worried glance. “Are you okay?” 

Nozomi shoots her a quick smile, though she can still feel her lips trembling. “Yes, I’m fine Elicchi!” 

Eli remains unconvinced, and leans closer to her, wiping a bead of sweat from Nozomi’s hairline. “You’re sweating. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Nozomi takes Eli’s hand that is above her forehead, and laces them with her own fingers. “I’m absolutely fine. I was just nervous to see you, is all.” 

“Since when were you ever nervous?” Eli grins, putting her other hand on her hip. 

“Hey I do get nervous!” Nozomi counters with a pout. “I mean, we’re girlfriends now aren’t we?” Her voice softens, and she looks at Eli with a tender gaze. 

Despite the panic that is still within Nozomi, looking at the beautiful Russian-Japanese girl and getting to call her her girlfriend is such a nice feeling. It makes her stomach bubble with excitement, and although nothing else could possibly change between them, the fact that she can now call her her girlfriend feels oddly superior. Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Even the way it sounds is so beautiful, like an extravagant word that is only limited to a few people who could project the word out nicely. In fact, Nozomi might think that girlfriend is one of the most beautiful words in the world. 

Eli casts her a shy, loving glance and tightens her grip on Nozomi’s hand as she thinks back about their conversation the night before. 

* * *

_“Elicchi, will you be my girlfriend?”_

When those words came out of Nozomi’s mouth, the only thing that Eli could do was to put a pillow over her face, and smile madly behind it. 

“Mou, who knew you would act like a girl from a shojou manga?” She could hear Nozomi’s usual teasing voice, and Eli wondered if Nozomi was actually as nervous as she was at the moment. 

Eli sticks her head out halfway from the pillow, and looks at Nozomi who is hugging the totoro soft toy she given her. It is always an endearing sight whenever Eli sees Nozomi with the soft toy in her hand, and Eli has never regretted playing a UFO catcher game in an arcade just to catch it for her. 

“The cards say that if you reject me, all the chocolate in the world will turn to vanilla.” Nozomi says. 

Eli knows for a fact that this isn’t true, but the thought of her favourite flavour becoming non-existent is just unbecoming and she flings the pillow across her room, exposing her full face to Nozomi again. “Okay I’ll be your girlfriend!” 

She sees Nozomi’s chest rise up with widened eyes, knowing for a fact that she’s elated to hear Eli’s response. However, she keeps her mouth close and draws her eyebrows together. “That’s mean, Elicchi. You only want to be with me because chocolate will vanish.” 

“That… That is not true.” Eli mutters, crossing her arms and pretending to look away with an unbothered expression. 

“But it’s okay. Even if it’s a bribe, at least I get to call Elicchi my girlfriend!” Nozomi exclaims, hugging and squeezing the soft toy in her arms. It’s such an adorable sight, and Eli wishes the purple-haired girl can be in her room at the moment instead of looking at her though the phone screen.

“Nozomi.” Eli calls out in a soft, gentle tone. 

“Hm?” 

Eli breathes in deeply, feeling the rate of her heart pick up pace. “I don’t care about chocolate or vanilla, I want to be your girlfriend too.” 

Nozomi puts her face closer to the screen, a smile creeping up on her face. “That’s a huge sacrifice, don’t ya think?” 

Eli shakes her head, confident of her choice. “Barely. Chocolate could not come this close to you.” 

Nozomi chuckles into the soft toy, and gazes at Eli, her turquoise doll eyes looking more mesmerising with each passing minute. “Who knew Elicchi would be such a romantic.” 

“You’re only lucky you’re cute.” Eli replies, shooting her a wink. 

With that, they begin to feel the fatigue creeping up on them and they leave their video chats open as they drift to sleep. Nozomi is of course, the first to wake up in the morning and she counts her lucky stars that she is able to still see Eli sleeping on her own bed. She doesn’t know how her girlfriend does it, but she looks so beautiful and peaceful in her sleep and she finds herself lucky to have such a goddess for a girlfriend. When Eli wakes up, the sight that she sees is Nozomi wrapped up in pink towel and all she can think of is what a babe of a girlfriend she has. 

* * *

It is one day to Eli’s birthday, and Nozomi is at her wit’s end. Not entirely, because she has a rough idea on what to do for her birthday, but it feels too rushed. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want to let it fail. After the last class of the day, she taps Eli’s back and her girlfriend turns around to face her.

“I have to go home early today, my mom wants to have a Skype call with me at home.” Nozomi manages to say the lie out convincingly. 

“Oh that’s fine! I have to be at home for dinner too because my oba-sama will be back home from Russia today.” Eli says, an excited smile plastered on her face as she mentions her grandmother. “I would have loved for you to see her too, but it’s alright you can always see her another time.” 

Nozomi can’t believe that Eli’s grandmother, who has been a huge part of Eli’s life and a source of motivation to keep the school going is in town, and Nozomi has to miss it. There has be some give and takes in this situation however, and it is also good that Eli gets to spend some time alone with her grandmother that she rarely gets to see in flesh. 

“Have fun, Elicchi.” 

“You too.” Eli smiles, and goes close to Nozomi’s ear. “I love you.” 

Nozomi’s first reaction is to stare at the blonde who is blushing slightly, and puts her hand up to the blonde’s forehead. It is warm, but not the kind where she has a fever. So if Eli isn’t sick, that means she really dared to confess her love for her in a public place, even though it was being whispered. It’s one of the boldest things Nozomi thought Eli wouldn’t do. Girlfriend Elicchi is a shocking but also really adorable kind of Elicchi. 

“I love you too, heheh.” Nozomi whispers back into Eli’s ear. 

* * *

After seeing Eli off at the main entrance of the school where she met Alisa to go home together, Nozomi sneaks back into the school, and runs to the second-year classrooms, hoping that the second-year trio are still there. Thankfully, she manages to catch them in time as they see the three of them walking out of the classroom together.

“Nozomi-chan!” Honoka is the first to notice Nozomi’s appearance, and hastens to her, the other two catching up to her behind. 

“Ah, just nice! I was hoping that all of you were still around!” Nozomi stops in her track and catches her breath.

“Ooh what’s going on!” The hyper ginger-haired hops in front of Nozomi, clasping her hands excitedly. 

“I kinda need ya help.” Nozomi says. She steps closer to the second-years, and motions for them to huddle closer. She makes one final check around her to see if a blonde would be in sight, even though she has already seen her leave the school grounds. She had to be extra careful, seeing that the blonde has almost walked in on her browsing erotic website links earlier this morning. 

“Okay, I want to make a birthday cake for Elicchi, but I can’t do this alone.” Nozomi says, with a pleading look in her eye. Obviously she is capable of making a cake alone, seeing that she has chefs for parents, but after few months in Otonokizaka and having made a few friends, she knows that this isn’t a thing she wants to do alone. For Eli’s birthday, for herself; she wants to share these with people who has come to matter to her. 

“Baking a cake?” Kotori says with a giggle, as she turns to a rather defeated-looking Umi by her side. 

“Hmm?” Nozomi ponders, wondering why her request has somehow triggered Umi’s certain reaction. 

“You see, Umi-chan told me she wanted to bake some cupcakes for me and Honoka, but she ended up burning all of them at home because she was distracted by a bird that flew into her house.” 

“Are you sure the bird just isn’t you, Kotori-chan?” Nozomi teases. 

“I think Umi-chan must be missing me, so she thought the bird was me.” Kotori chuckles, putting her face close to her girlfriend’s bashful cheek and sniffing it. Of all the times Nozomi has seen them together, this is the clingiest she has seen Kotori. The fact that she even dares to get so intimate to her within the school grounds is another thing. 

“S-s-stop it! And we see each other almost everyday, Kotori! It’s just weird that a bird would fly in all of a sudden…” Umi says, red-faced and flustered. She takes a deep breath and looks at Nozomi. “We can help you, Nozomi. I don’t have archery practice today so it’s a good time.” She relaxes herself, easing into a gentle smile. 

“Yeah, and I don’t have idol practice today too!” Honoka adds in. “Nico-chan’s been so strict about maintaining my weight as an idol, I have to carefully hide my bread in case she finds out!” She huffs, grunting softly. 

“AH! NICOCCHI!” Nozomi shouts, pointing beyond Honoka. 

“What?! Ahh! NO!” Honoka runs to Nozomi’s side, clinging onto her arms fearfully as she tries to look at where Nozomi is pointing. 

“I’m kidding, Honoka-chan.” Nozomi pats Honoka’s head and giggles. 

“Mou, that was so mean Nozomi-chan!” Honoka drawls out, lips pouting slightly. 

“But Nico-senpai is right, you’re going to gain weight if you keep having so much melon-pan each day!” Umi draws her eyebrows together as she lectures her childhood friend. 

“Maa maa, Honoka-chan isn’t even fat, I’m sure having a bread or two wouldn’t hurt so much.” Kotori assures her girlfriend, clinging her arms with hers together. Umi seems to panic a little at the action, but ultimately the adorable sight of her girlfriend is too irresistible and she eventually sighs, dropping the whole lecture on Honoka and her bread-loving habit. 

Kotori then turns to Nozomi, her arms still in an interlock with Umi’s. “I have some baking ingredients that I took back from the maid cafe at my house, maybe we can go to my house to bake the cake together?”

* * *

“Okay, so you and Kotori will start to bake the cake, and once it’s done Honoka and I will take over to decorate the cake!” Umi goes into leader mode, instructing the three girls, including Nozomi who is present. Nozomi knows that the three of them are childhood friends, but she mostly sees Kotori and Umi alone together, and notices the shy, intimate side of Umi. Now that Honoka is with them, she gets to witness Umi letting herself go and communicating more naturally. Romance does change people, but Nozomi is sure there is absolutely nothing negative about it. Umi flicks Honoka’s sides, causing the ginger-haired girl to jump up in surprise. “And you, Honoka. I know you have problem with mathematics, so I will tutor you in your math homework in the meantime.”

Nozomi takes a glance at the ash-brown haired girl who is standing on the other side of Umi, her facial features darkening despite the smile on her face as she stands closely to Umi, looking as if she has morphed into her. Perhaps she is upset that she won’t get to do such a domestic thing like decorating a cake together with her own girlfriend, even though they will probably get a lot of opportunities to do these seeing how close they are. And perhaps… Kotori could be feeling clingy because she is on her period. It is just an assumption, but Nozomi knows that she doesn’t want to see her junior upset when she is the one who asked them for a favour. 

“Hm, maybe I could tutor Honoka-chan instead? Besides, I think I want to settle for decorating the cake because I know how Elicchi would like it.” Nozomi suggests in an amicable tone. 

“Oh my gosh yes! At least Nozomi-chan is nice!” Honoka cheers, sticking closely by Nozomi’s side. 

Nozomi shoots her junior a sly look, and holds up both of her hands menacingly. “I won’t be nice if you won’t do your work properly…” 

“I-i-is that washi-washi?” Honoka crouches slightly and backs away. 

“You betcha.” Nozomi winks, her hands moving closer to Honoka’s chest.

“Mou, you both are mean!” Honoka shouts, running to the living room where she will then begin on her homework. 

Nozomi turns back to Kotori and Umi with a smile on her face. “Don’t worry, she’s in _good hands._ ” She lets out a hearty laughter, at the pun she made with her grabby hands. 

“Nozomi-chan is kinda scary.” Kotori whines, wrapping her arms tightly around Umi’s waist. 

“I’ll show you how scary I can be, Kotoooriiiiii, hng hng hng!” Nozomi takes a step closer to a petrified-looking Kotori, her hands remaining in the same position. 

“D-d-do anything to her and I won’t hesitate to shoot you with my arrow, No-no-nozomi!” Umi speaks out, peeling herself away from her girlfriend and standing in front of her to protect her. 

Seeing this heroic action from Umi, Nozomi giggles, a more cheerful one this time and winks at the both of them. “I’m just joking! Thank you again for doing this, and have fun baking the cake!” 

* * *

“Nozomi-chan, did I get it correct?” Honoka raises her head after working out her math sums on her worksheet.

“Here, let me see…” Nozomi takes the paper and goes through the solution that Honoka has solved out. She widens her eyes, and nods in amazement. “That’s correct, Honoka-chan, you managed to pick this math sum up effectively after teaching you for one time.” 

“Yay! I should really ask you more for help next time, Nozomi-sensei!” Honoka exclaims, putting her hands up in victory. 

“Eh, don’t call me that!” Nozomi answers, slapping Honoka’s hands playfully. 

“Hehe, Nozomi-sensei, Nozomi-sensei!” 

“Mou…” Nozomi drawls out with an amused smile, the energy from the idol-crazed girl as baffling as ever. 

Honoka tries to peek into the kitchen from where she is seated in the living room, and suddenly, she goes quiet. 

“Honoka-cchi? You okay?” Nozomi asks, eyes flashing her a look of concern.

Honoka slumps across the table with a pout. “You know, I feel like a third wheel whenever I’m with them.” 

“Ah, why do you think so?” Nozomi knows that it is bound to happen, especially in a case of a friendship among trios when two of them get together. But when she sees the three of them together, all she sees are close friends enjoying each other’s company, and even Kotori and Umi aren’t as blatant about their relationship when the three of them are together. 

“It’s just—” Honoka takes a deep breath and exhales. “I think I’m in their way. When we’re together they don't dare to express their feelings, but when they’re alone they become lovey-dovey. I don’t want them to hide themselves around me, it makes me feel guilty.” 

It’s rare to see the usually energetic and spunky girl become serious and emotional, and Nozomi is starting to wonder if she is on her period as well. Jokes aside, she understands where Honoka is coming from and places a reassuring hand on her head, patting it lightly. “Think of it another way. Before Kotori and Umi-chan started dating, the three of you have always been close friends and together right?” 

Honoka nods, sighing deeply. 

“And nothing has changed even if they started dating, you see that? You three are still as close as ever, I can see that. Yes, Kotori and Umi may not want to show their affections when you are around, because I believe that they want to draw a line between friends and romance. When they are with you, they value you and each other as close friends, that’s why they don’t want to leave you out if they were to ever be touchy with each other. They choose to do it when they’re alone.” Nozomi speaks tenderly, her voice deepening. “And besides, Umi-chan is too shy to be intimate in front of people too.” 

“Hmm…” Honoka drawls out, slightly convinced. She sits back up, and takes one last look in the direction of the kitchen, and back at her purple-haired senior. “Even you are together with Eli-chan… Are relationships with girls fun?” 

“Eh?” Nozomi reacts, slightly taken aback by Honoka’s question. She shrugs her shoulders lightly. “Well, I didn’t really think much of the gender of the person. It’s like all of a sudden I met Elicchi and the next moment I find myself falling in love with her. It’s hard to describe, ya know.” 

Poor, innocent Honoka is still trying to adjust to the fact that her friends around her are dating each other and there she is, feeling left out. Nozomi continues petting her hair calmly. “But you know what I cherish more about Elicchi?” 

“Mm, what is it?” 

“It’s the friendship she gave me when we first met.” Nozomi smiles, almost nostalgically. “Back then I was always moving around, and the idea of friends was something so foreign to me. Eli is the first person who defined the word friends for me. And then there’s you, and Kotori, Umi and Nicocchi. I’m really happy to have met friends like you.” 

“Aww, Nozomi-chan! I’m happy to meet you too!” Honk flings her arms around Nozomi, throwing her back and Nozomi has to put both hands behind her to balance herself from Honoka’s weight. 

Just then, shrills of laughter—most notably Kotori’s, can be heard from the kitchen, and it dies down a while before it goes quiet again. 

“Neh, Honoka-chan. Should we go see what they’re up to?” Nozomi says, pointing to the kitchen. 

* * *

“KOTOUMIIIIIII-CHAAA—OH!”

Upon noticing the sight, a red-faced Honoka backs away from the kitchen slowly, embarrassed to have seen something as Umi would call it, _shameless._ Because Kotori and Umi have just kissed in front of them, unaware that they would be intruding. Besides that, there is clearly a mess in the kitchen, with flour all over the table, and on the two’s uniform. There are slight remnants of melted dark chocolate on Umi’s face, though red is starting to form on her cheek as well from being found out in such a mess. It’s a wonder how they didn’t manage to make so much noise as compared to the physical chaos in the kitchen. 

“Sorry… We got too ahead of ourselves…” Umi mutters apologetically. 

“Turns out we aren’t very good at mixing the batter without an electric mixer… It got everywhere and we ended up throwing flour at each other.” Kotori says, half-apologetically and half-playfully. She didn’t have to apologise much anyway, it’s her house to begin with. 

“I hope the cake is fine…” Nozomi narrows her glance at the two of them, stepping forward and bending down in front of the oven. The brown-coloured cake is still warming up in the oven, and even though she can’t see much, the shape is there so there’s not much to argue about. Kotori and Umi are just having their own domestic share of fun after having successfully baking the cake together. 

“Okay, it looks alright.” Nozomi nods her head, standing back up and surveying the two girls again. “Also Umi-chan.” She points to her cheek with the stained dark chocolate. “You still have some dark chocolate there. If it’s Elicchi, she wouldn’t want any chocolate to go to waste.” 

“Heheh, no worries!” Kotori pipes up, and immediately goes to Umi’s cheek, sticking out her tongue and licking the chocolate off delicately. With the speed of her doing so, it almost looks sensual and Nozomi now wonders if she has intruded something indeed. 

However, Honoka's voice pierces through the kitchen, as she runs towards them. “No fair! I want some chocolate too!” She sticks out her finger at the remaining chocolate-stained part of Umi’s cheek and tastes some of it from her finger. 

“Oishi!!!!!” Honoka cries out delightfully. “This is some good chocolate!” 

“Heheh, of course. My maid cafe has the best cake ingredients!” Kotori beams proudly.

As for Umi, she is frozen into spot, unable to speak from Honoka’s and Kotori’s forwardness. Her mouth is quivering, looking as if she wants to say something but it doesn’t come out. Nozomi giggles at the sight at the three childhood friends. It seems like Honoka has already gotten over her insecurity of being a third wheel.

* * *

The next day passes quickly, and Nozomi makes sure to communicate with everyone, letting them have a clear idea of what they have to do together in order to surprise Eli. The birthday cake is currently safely stored in the refrigerator of the school’s cafeteria, the purple balloons—because Eli likes purple; that will be revealed later has been filled with helium and stored in the storeroom of the student council room, the gift that Nozomi has gotten for Eli is tucked away in her bag, everything is in place.

When Eli meets Nozomi in the student council room, Nozomi acts normally and doesn’t spontaneously wish her happy birthday. She just goes over to her and gives her a light peck, wishing her happy birthday in the gentlest tone ever. Yet even with such simpleness, Eli is already beaming from eye to eye from the birthday wish from her girlfriend. 

Before heading to classes, Eli has to go over to the locker to take out her textbooks for the day. As soon as she opens it, a flood of letters fall out from the locker, pilling into the ground in front of her. A few girls standing beside Nozomi and Eli watch it all unfold, some of them squealing excitedly, hoping for Eli to see their letter. 

“Wow, birthday letters huh?” Nozomi bends down, helping Eli to pick out some of the letters and passing them to Eli. 

“Yeah, it happened last year too.” Eli says, hugging the letter pile close to her chest, looking around her as she shoots the girls a shy, awkward smile. “Last year a girl confessed to me while wishing me happy birthday, it was really weird.” 

Nozomi stands behind Eli, resting her chin on Eli’s shoulder, much to the envy of the girls watching. “Really? I can’t believe there are other girls here who are attracted to girls, besides Kotori and Umi.” 

“Yeah, it’s a girl’s school after all.” Eli shrugs, closing her locker with one hand and holding on to the letters on the other hand. 

“Or maybe it’s because of you, Elicchi. You’re so pretty and cool, and tall, and—”

Nozomi’s words are cut short when Eli’s fingers raises up to Nozomi’s lips. “Are you jealous?” 

“Eh?” Nozomi feigns ignorance. “No, I’m not!” Honestly though, Nozomi is jealous to an extent. Back then during their first date when those guys catcalled Eli, she wasn’t jealous at all. She simply made use of their catcalling to further tease and frighten them away. But now, a certain sinking feeling tugs on her heartstrings when she sees the pile of letters in Eli’s hand, and the gazes of the other girls around them. Maybe this is what sets apart a usual crush, and a girlfriend. Having a girlfriend now makes Nozomi feel the other sides of her emotions she has yet to feel before. 

“Baka.” Eli grins, looking at the adorable purple-haired girl she is heads over heels with. She puts an arm around her, and starts to walk together to their classroom. “Haven’t I told you before that my feelings for you are 100%?” She says, with a whisper to Nozomi’s ear. 

* * *

Once they reach their classroom, Eli is received with a litany of birthday greetings and small presents from her classmates. Once the crowd around her clears, Nico surfaces from behind them, and Nozomi gives a quick wink to her, as a notion for her to start one of the birthday plans that they have discussed earlier on.

“Hey, Eli.” Nico says, approaching her table with her phone in her hand. 

“Yes, Nico?

“Selfie with the one and only Nico-idol Ni?” Nico exclaims, holding up one hand with her phone with the camera ready, the other hand in her signature pose. 

“Selfie?” Eli asks, creasing her brows in confusion. 

“It’s an honour to be in a picture with me, you know. And since it’s your birthday I decided to promo you on my Instagram page.” Nico says proudly. 

“Do it! Do it!” Nozomi chants, pounding on the table, mildly excited for the first plan of her plan to work out. The plan is that Nico, Kotori, Honoka and Umi would go over and take pictures with Eli, then uploading them to Instagram and tagging clues on it to guess where she would go to have their birthday surprise. Everything—well, mostly, would then be revealed there. The birthday cake, the gifts from each of them, and the whole surprise. Nozomi would then bring Eli back to the student council room after that, and give her a surprise of her own. 

“Well, sure thing.” Eli accepts, and positions herself in front of the camera with Nico. 

“Hey, make sure to do the Nico-Nico-Nii pose too!” Nico instructs, showing Eli her hand pose. 

“Uhh, okay.” Eli puts her fingers into the pose, and smiles awkwardly as Nico chants out ‘Nico-Nico-Nii’ before taking the picture. 

Once Nico is done, she briefly wishes Eli happy birthday again before returning to her seat just in time before the sensei comes into class to conduct the first class of the day. Nozomi looks out for Nico, and winks at her for a job well done. It’s amazing that Nico can actually be so spontaneous, despite how standoff-ish she might act at first. 

Nozomi has been restless throughout class for the day, occasionally finding herself doodling on her totoro notepad. The thoughts of the surprise that is going to happen keeps lingering in her head, the slight anxiety crawling into her skin as she just wants all of these to go well. It’s her first time planning something big for someone she cares about most after all. Although it’s Eli’s birthday, there are still minimal things to be done for the student council, and they are required to handle it in the student council room. Sometimes Nozomi wonders why it seems that Eli is doing so many things, despite there being other members in the council. Nonetheless, she knows that the responsible Ayase Eli would want things to be done efficiently, and the only person who is efficient and responsible enough is her. 

After the classes are done for they day, they make their way to the student council room, Nozomi suggests to take the longer way, which would purposely allow them to pass by the second-years classroom, where the next part of the plan would commence. Eli agrees without much thought, caring more that she gets more time to walk around with Nozomi. 

When they see that the second-year classroom is within their sight, Nozomi subtly checks the time on her phone, and it matches to the meeting time she has informed Kotori and Umi. As if on cue, the blue-haired and ash-brown haired girl walks out of their class, with Kotori holding a pink polaroid camera in her hand.

“Eli-chan! Can we get a picture with you?” Kotori jumps right into it, convincing her to take the picture as she holds up the polaroid camera. 

“Sure, but—”

“Nozomi, if you don’t mind?” Umi cuts in, taking the polaroid from Kotori’s hand and passing it to Nozomi’s awaiting hand. 

“Heheh, of course.” Nozomi positions the camera in front of them, as Umi and Kotori sandwich Eli in the middle.

“Wait, wha-what’s—”

“Smile, Elicchi!” Nozomi shouts, not giving Eli a chance to speak. 

“But—”

“1,2, 3!” Nozomi takes the picture, and a buzzing sound whirls in her hand as the film comes out from the camera. She hands it back to Kotori and Umi, who disappears back into their classroom immediately. 

“Aren’t they acting weird today?” Eli says, peeking into their classroom. 

“Are they? I think they just want to have a picture with the birthday girl.” Nozomi knows that Kotori and Umi have to get their stuff and get back out of class to where the intended surprise destination is, so Nozomi quickly leads her to the toilet nearby, where she would hide in for a minute before going out again. 

“You gotta pee?” Eli asks.

“Not really.” 

“What…” 

Nozomi didn’t plan this out, but seeing that there is no one here, an impromptu idea flickers across her mind. She takes a few steps in front of Eli, pushing her till she has no space to move and is planted against the wall. Nozomi puts her hand on the wall that Eli is leaning on, gazing at her intensely. 

“No-nozomi… What if someone comes in!” Eli tries to look past Nozomi, the fear evident in her blue eyes. 

“No one will come in.” Nozomi deepens her voice, keeping a steady gaze at Eli. Her face inches closer to Eli’s. “Everyone’s been surrounding you the whole day, and now I can finally have you all to myself.” She breathes out against Eli’s face, causing her lips to tremble. 

“Nozomi, I want you too…” Eli answers softly. “But it’s a very risky place…” 

Nozomi looks to the direction of the door, with the sound of footsteps rustling from outside. It is a risky place indeed, but she can be certain that the waiting time has passed and it is time to end her distraction in the toilet. She takes out her hand, and steps backward, putting on an innocent look. “I’m just kidding, Elicchi! Thought it’d be fun to try being more daring.” 

“Sometimes you’re full of shit, Nozomi.” Eli says, breathing out a sigh of relief. Though at the same time Nozomi swears Eli is also slightly disappointed that the kiss didn’t happen. Oh well, that can always happen in her other plan later. 

When they step out of the toilet, it seems that Honoka is already there as planned. 

“Ah, Honoka!!!” Eli shrieks, frightened by the ginger-haired’s presence. 

“Hehe, sorry, sorry!” Honoka says. She then raises up her phone in her hand, and with the events that has happened today, Eli is alert enough to know what Honoka is going to request next. 

“You want a picture with me?” She says quickly.

“Hm, sort of. I need a picture of YOU actually. Nico and I need to take a picture for the founding member of the school idol club, which is you!” 

Nozomi isn’t aware of that lie that Honoka has came up, but now that she has heard it, she is quite impressed by her wits. 

“Eh, but isn’t Nozomi the one who approved of the club too?” Eli says, pointing to Nozomi. 

“Yes!!! But we feel that you have more seniority, since you’re the student council president.” Honoka replies, as if she has memorised what to say at the back of head.

“O.. Okay. I didn’t know clubs have such a routine now.” Eli says, as she stands in front of the white wall and fixes her hair for the portrait. Honoka snaps the picture in a jiffy, and gives a thumbs-up to her. 

“Woah Eli-chan you look so cool! Thank you and happy birthday! I have to go find Nico now.” Honoka exclaims before turning around to go to where the meet up place is. Nozomi makes a silent prayer, glad that the first wave of plans has gone by smoothly. 

“Okay, that was crazy. We should really go to the student council room now.” Eli says. 

“Wait!!” Nozomi holds her back and Eli cocks her head at her in wonder. “Check your instagram, I want to see Nico’s photo!”

With that, Eli takes out her phone and goes to the Instagram app, seeing three familiar users’ posts joined together as she scrolls down to them. The first photo is from superloveidol_niconi, and it is the selfie that Nico took with Eli in the classroom. It is unsurprising that she put a rather flamboyant filter on it. The user above Nico is sono-umi-dah, and it is a snapshot of the polaroid picture they took from their own phone, placed against the background of the window, with it angled slightly so that it briefly showed the sight of the rooftop. The most updated photo is from honknoka, just fifteen seconds ago. It is the portrait photo of Eli herself, which is kind of weird to see.

“Hey Elicchi.” Nozomi taps on Eli’s shoulder, getting her attention. “Try to guess a place in this school from those three pictures. I’ll see you there!”

Before Eli has any time to stop Nozomi and find out what’s going on, Nozomi has gone out of sight, leaving her alone with the Instagram page on her hand. With all the odd things going on, she can gather what is roughly going on: Nozomi is probably going to do up some special thing since it’s her birthday, and has gone through her friends in order for it to work. 

Eli looks back at the Instagram post, starting from Nico’s first. She observes it for a while, wondering how a selfie in the classroom could divulge some information. Her eyes go over to the location tag on the photo, and it says ‘idols’, which is probably the furthest clue away from where a location can possible be. She then scrolls up to Umi’s post, and there isn’t a location tag. Guess she’ll have to depend on her observational skills then. The polaroid picture could have been taken easily, if placed on a table, but the way they took it against the window which shows some of the buildings outside is something to take note about. The purple grilles on the rooftop can be seen, and Eli is starting to piece it all together. The last post is Honoka's post, with the caption, “It’s hot during practice, but we’re still grateful for our student council president who has helped us to approve our idol club!” The keyword in the caption is hot, and she instantly knows what it means already. Eli switches off her phone and places it back into her pocket, knowing where the place is: The rooftop. 

* * *

As Eli nears the door to the rooftop, she can already hear Nico and Honoka bickering behind it. With a soft chuckle, she opens the door, and standing behind it are Honoka, Kotori, Umi, Nico, with Nozomi standing in the middle of them with a cake in her hand.

“Happy birthday Eli!!!!” They shout at the same time, while Umi helps Nozomi to light up the chocolate cake in her hand. That chocolate cake looks so ravishing, Eli almost catches herself opening her mouth in delight before closing it again and maintaining a cool smile. 

“I knew it.” Eli smiles, taking a few steps closer to Nozomi. 

“Eh?? You did?” Honoka says, slightly disappointed.

“Well, it was quite obvious…” Eli gives off a light shrug. “But I am surprised by that cake though.” 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Nozomi says happily, holding it closer to Eli’s face. “Kotori and Umi baked it, while Honoka and I decorated it.” 

“Yes…” Eli mutters, entranced by the sight of that chocolate-glazed beauty. The fact that it is sprinkled with more chocolate on top along with chocolate icing just makes it more appealing to her. “It’s more beautiful than you even, Nozomi…” 

The candles on the cake become out of Eli’s sight, and it takes her a few seconds before she sees Nozomi with a crossed look on her face, holding the cake away from her.

“Eli-chan does love chocolate doesn’t she?” Kotori says, nudging the blue-haired girl by her side on her shoulders.

“I know, it’s like she’s been hypnotised by the chocolate cake.” Umi responds, watching the blonde’s exasperation. 

“Nozomiiiiiiiiii!” Eli whines, hoping to get the purple-haired girl to bring back the chocolate cake, unperturbed by her junior’s comments. 

“Fine, only because the candles might melt soon.” Nozomi puts the cake back in front of Eli’s face, a childish sort of joy overcoming her usually stern and cool face. Although it is such an irresistible and adorable sight, Nozomi can’t help but feel embarrassed for the blonde too since her juniors, and even her classmate Nico are watching her act like this. 

“Okay now, let’s welcome your very own, Nico-Nii idol-sama as she leads all of us into a birthday song!” Nico exclaims excitedly. 

“Take it away, Nico-chan!” Nozomi says.

With that, Nico begins to lead the group in singing a birthday song for Eli together, though at some point of time Nico seems to get carried away, and continues to drag the song by singing the last note in different octaves. 

“Nico-chan, Eli needs to blow out her candles now.” Honoka taps on her shoulders, laughing nervously. 

“Hai?” Nico opens her eyes from her intense song dramatisation, and sees everyone’s eyes on her. “Oh, excuse me. I hope you enjoyed my song!” 

Eli then blows the candles on the cake, with cheers and applauses from her friends around her after that. She doesn’t hesitate to dig in to the cake, ignoring the cake cutting process and simply pokes at a chunk of cake, stuffing them into her mouth. 

“Harasho! It’s dark chocolate!” Eli exclaims in a muffled voice, mouth still half-full of chocolate. 

“Of course it is, Elicchi.” Nozomi answers, the sight of Eli being so excited making her smile uncontrollably. 

“That’s why you asked me what my favourite chocolate flavour was!” Eli turns to her, blue eyes ecstatic. 

“Hai, hai. I hope you like it.” Nozomi grins, taking a bite out of her own piece of chocolate cake. 

Amidst Eli’s whole chocolate facade, she is extremely touched and grateful that Nozomi would be so conscious and thoughtful. Seeing that the other girls have their backs turned to Eli as they seem to be taking out something from their bags, Eli takes a piece of her chocolate cake and feeds it to her, planting a quick kiss on her cheek after which causes Nozomi to smile shyly. 

“Eli-chan!” Kotori calls out, turning around and hiding something behind her back.

“What is it, Kotori?” Eli answers, wiping at her mouth gently. 

Kotori begins to unveil the thing behind her back, and it turns out to be a light purple ballet tutu. It is a simple tutu, with minimal ruffles but it still looks beautiful enough to wear. “I sewn this for you last night. I know it looks very plain, but there’s only so much I can do in one day, so here you go Eli-chan!” 

“Kotori…” Eli accepts the gift graciously, threading her hands across the material of the tutu. It has been so long since she worn a tutu, ever since the last audition that she failed back in Russia. The memories come flooding back to her, and she has to hold her breath from getting overwhelmed by the emotions. 

Then, Umi and Honoka approaches her, as they hold on to a card together. “Honoka and I wrote this poem for you.” Umi says, presenting the card to her.

“I couldn’t do much, because I’m horrible at poems, but Umi-chan helped me with it a lot!” Honoka says, rubbing at her head shyly. 

“It’s really thoughtful of you both, thank you!” Eli says, after reading the genuine and heartfelt poem. 

The next person to give Eli her gift is Nico, and unsurprisingly, she gives her a signed picture of herself. “Don’t say I am stingy and unwilling to give people my signature!!! Because now you have my exclusive picture with my signature here, only because it’s your birthday!” 

“Thank you very much Nico, I appreciate it.” Eli says, playing along with Nico just to make her happy. She turns to the back of the picture, and sees a few words there. 

“Eh no no no! Read that when you’re alone!” Nico stammers, trying to block the words from Eli. 

Although Nico has obstructed her view of the words behind the picture, she can still see the word “thank you” amidst it, and knows that the idol-crazed girl still cares for her friends deeply. 

The last person to give her her gift is none other than her own girlfriend, and as she watches Nozomi approach her carefully, she simply takes hold of her and brings her to sit in her lap. 

“T-t-t-t-that is too much!” Umi is first to react, cowering in fear. 

“Eh? Why are you acting so surprised for? I’m pretty sure you and the birb done the same things in private too.” Nico chides. It seems that she has gotten used to all the yuri-activity around her.

“But, but…. It’s indecent!!!” Umi argues, hands shaking as she continues putting her hands on her face. 

As the girls around Nozomi and Eli bicker among each other, Eli concentrates on Nozomi’s eyes, never letting her gaze waver. Her fingers brush against Nozomi’s purple bangs, and her hands then drops down to Nozomi’s thighs, pulling her in closer to her lap. “So, what did you get for me?” 

Nozomi’s lip trembles, and shifts her legs nervously as she sits on Eli’s lap. It is so unlike Eli to be unbothered by people watching, especially when she is the one who is worried about being caught in the bathroom earlier on. “Well… I got you…” Nozomi hands Eli a purple box, and she receives it, shooting a surreptitious gaze at it. She unties the ribbon on the box gently, and as she goes over to open the box, Nozomi looks on eagerly. 

“Oh my god… Nozomi.” Eli draws out, as she takes out her present—a pair of ballet pointe shoes, and holds it in front of her to look at it properly. “You can’t be serious…” 

“I am serious.” Nozomi whispers, gazing steadily at Eli. 

“How did you even…” 

“Thanks to me!” A voice erupts from in front of them, and they look up to see Honoka with a satisfied smile on her face. 

“Honoka?” 

“Well… A little. Heh heh… Nozomi-chan first asked me to ask Yukiho to ask Alisa what Eli-chan’s feet measurement was.” 

Eli nods at Honoka’s explanation, thinking back to yesterday when Alisa was prying about in her room. 

“Nozomi, I have to say I’m really impressed with you.” Eli shoots her a loving smile, feeling so lucky that someone would go through these lengths just for her. 

She sees the purple-head leaning in to her ear, and her breath tickles it slightly. “Don’t be too impressed yet, Elicchi. I still have another surprise in the student council room.” 

* * *

After the rooftop celebration, Eli thanks the girls again for celebrating with her. They go back their separate ways, as Nozomi and Eli find themselves walking to the student council room—for real this time. Nozomi picks up pace, and is the first to enter the student council room, locking it for a while and preventing Eli from entering. 

“Nozomi! Open up!” Eli pounds on the door repeatedly. It takes a few seconds before a ‘click’ sound could be heard on the other end of the door, and Eli budges in immediately. Before she has time to react further, a black material is strewn across her eyes, and everything around her is pitch black. She is being blindfolded. 

“Nozomi, take this out!” She yells, as instantaneous fear grips Eli’s heart. Everything is black. And it’s horrifying. 

Nozomi doesn’t speak up, but Eli can feel some sort of knots going round her body, feeling her body constrict. Great, Eli thinks. She is now trapped in a vortex of darkness, while being tied up at the same time. Her breathing is ragged and fast, her heart thumping wildly. As Nozomi works on whatever she is doing to Eli, she can smell a pungent latex smell, the smell of balloons. If Nozomi thinks this is fun, she should really think it through again.

At the moment, Eli feels Nozomi’s hands go around the back of her head, a tiny bit of light from the room vanquishing the darkness. It takes her a while to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room and as she looks around her, she sees herself being tied up with balloons around her, and in front of her is a purple-haired girl with a snark smile on her face. 

“Ooo, I can’t believe it worked out.” Nozomi winks, sashaying towards Eli as her fingers trail around her back, and upwards to her neck. She breathes into Eli’s skin, feeling the wetness of Nozomi’s tongue on her and this causes a whimper to escape Eli’s throat. There’s no denying that this feeling is sensational, providing her body with want. However, her mind is still stuck on the frightful feeling from earlier on, and she isn’t able to think straight. 

Nozomi circles around Eli, until she stops right in front of her. She moves closer and kisses Eli on her cheek, her lips slowly making a trail towards her mouth. Nozomi takes hold of Eli’s chin, pulling it down a little to join their lips in a slow, winding kiss. Nozomi tastes like chocolate—actually both of them do, and the taste leaves her wanting more. When she pulls back, Nozomi licks her in a titillating manner, leaving Eli breathless. But on the other hand, her mind is adrift in a cacophony of darkness. The cold auditorium. The silence. The darkness.

Nozomi starts to work her hands around her second-year ribbon, untying it and loosening her uniform top, which exposes her cleavage. There is no denying Eli is turned on by this sight, but this doesn’t feel right at the moment. She’s still afraid. 

Nozomi saunters over to Eli, hips swaying slightly. She cups Eli’s face with both hands, her gaze electrifying. “Happy birthday, Elicchi.” 

As Nozomi is about to go in for another kiss, Eli lets out a groan, and moves her body uncontrollably, wanting to be freed from the balloons around her. 

“Elicchi?” Nozomi looks back, her voice gone soft. 

“Let me out!” Eli yells hastily. 

That outspoken denunciation from Eli leaves Nozomi speechless, her eyes lowering its intensity, and they now look melancholic as she forms a tortured expression on her face. “Okay, if that’s what you want.” 

Nozomi buttons her top back, and proceeds to untie all the knots around Eli, freeing the blonde from being tied up. 

Eli roves around the room, taking her bag and slinging it on her shoulder. “I-I’m sorry.” 

Nozomi shakes her head, forcing a weak smile. “It’s okay. I knew from the shady website that it wouldn’t work.” She gives off a light shrug, softly crinkling her forehead. “I guess it was worth a try!” 

Even though Nozomi is trying to keep up a normal act, pretending that nothing is wrong, Eli knows from her darkened features on her face that she is upset. After all, she has seen this look on Nozomi’s face before when she blown her off the other time when she wanted to plan out the culture festival activities. 

“I’m sorry…” Eli apologises again, putting a shaky hand on Nozomi’s shoulder. 

Nozomi joins her hand on top, squeezing it lightly. “It’s okay. We should go home.” 

* * *

As soon as Eli opens the door to her home, confetti falls all around her.

“Happy birthday Elichika!!!” 

Alisa, her parents and her grandmother standing in front of her. Honestly, she isn’t in the mood for this right now, but seeing that her father who is rarely at home because of work, and grandmother who has come to Japan to visit are celebrating her birthday with her, she musters up a smile and tries to get into the mood with them. 

“Oya! Is that a ballet tutu?” Her grandmother goes to Eli, lifting up the ballet tutu that Kotori has made for her. 

“My friend made it for me, oba-sama.” Eli smiles. She takes out the ballet pointe shoes from her bag and has to pause to look at it for a while, remembering the way Nozomi was so happy to give this present to her. “And these are shoes to match with.” 

“Ah! That is thanks to me! I helped Nozomi onee-chan to find out onee-chan’s size!” Alisa beams widely, and Eli pats her head to appease the younger girl. The mention of Nozomi only throws her off her game more, and she holds it in, unwilling to give away the sadness she is feeling inside. 

“My, you have good friends don’t you?” Her grandmother gives a wrinkled grin, patting the back of her granddaughter lovingly. 

* * *

The rest of the evening is spent having dinner with her family at home, a Russian-Japanese fusion that is just appropriate for them. Her grandmother has been extra doting with her, and she has missed her company so much. But most importantly, she misses Nozomi a lot. Everything right now feels pleasant, but it’s not exactly complete. An ache tugs at her heart, and she wants nothing more than to get this feeling out, especially when it’s supposed to be her happy day.

“Elichika? Will you come into the room with me?” Eli’s grandmother says, pointing to Eli’s room while they are having their dinner. 

“Oba-sama? We can’t talk here?” 

“No, we can’t.” Her grandmother smiles rather evilly, and Eli has to keep from laughing at the woman’s wits despite her age. 

* * *

“What’s wrong my dear Elichika?” Eli’s grandmother says, trailing her bony fingers down Eli’s long, blonde hair.

“Hm?” Eli snaps back at her, looking down at her grandmother with a confused expression. “Nothing’s wrong, oba-sama.” 

“Come on, I know that look you have. It’s that look you have whenever the ptasie mleczko at the candy store in Russia was sold out.” Her grandmother teases. The memory of Eli’s childhood comes back to her and her favourite candy store in Russia, where she would constantly hold her grandmother’s hand to buy ptasie mleczko, a chocolate candy every Sunday evening. She chuckles lightly, a forlorn gaze as she looks at her grandmother who has aged over the months of not seeing her. She is still beautiful however, her similar blue eyes warm and tender. 

“So, you want to tell me what’s wrong? Is it the school?” She says. 

“No, oba-sama.” She shakes her head, shooting her a relaxed look. “The school is doing fine. Nozomi and I—” She pauses, just as the name escapes the tip of her tongue. 

“Nozomi huh…” Her grandmother drawls out, nodding slowly to herself.

“Uh, yeah, she’s my—”

“Girlfriend?” 

“Eh??!! Oba-sama?” Eli croaks, lifting her hands up in shock. She was going to say that Nozomi is a good friend, but her grandmother simply drops the ‘girlfriend’ bomb. 

“My, my. My cute and clever Elichika isn’t very clever anymore…” She says amusingly.

“Oba-sama, how did you…” 

“I was tucking you into sleep last night, and your phone screen lit up at the same time. I think it’s a message you gotten. When the screen came up, I saw you and that girl together on your wallpaper.” 

“Mou, oba-sama, that’s how normal friends pose, you know.” Eli mutters, forcing a laugh as she shakes her head. 

“You’re still not clever, you.” Her grandmother chides her. “You rarely have friends around you, and now you even have a picture with that girl. That girl even went all the way to ask Alisa about your shoe size. No friend would do such a thing.” 

“I’m sure some friends do that…” Eli tries to convince, though at the point the defiant look on her grandmother’s face is beating her to it. 

“Elichika, I know okay.” Her bony hands, slightly rough and calloused caresses her granddaughter’s cheeks, crinkling her wrinkled forehead. “Don’t be ashamed to bring her home to introduce us.” 

“But I did bring her home before!” 

“Yes you did, but I wasn’t there. And, did you introduce her as your girlfriend yet?” 

Eli sighs, looking away shyly. “No, I didn’t.” 

“Then bring her here! i want to see this cute looking girl that caught your heart.” The words that come out of the old woman’s mouth is rather cheesy, but all Eli can think of is how her grandmother has accepted her for being in a relationship with a same-sex person, and she didn’t even have to confess to her about that. 

“We’re… We’re a bit on an awkward term now.” 

“That’s why I say you’re not clever. Bring her here, and make up with her! It’s your birthday, you can’t end it like that.” 

“Mou, oba-sama. You said I’m not clever for three times already.” A hurt look encompasses Eli’s face. 

“You’re not clever, my cute Elichika.” Four times now. “You will only be clever once you bring her here.” 

“I get it! I will okay!” 

* * *

Ayase Eli (7.08PM): Hey… Do you want to come over? My grandmother insists that you should come and have my birthday dinner with us.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.08PM): would i be intruding? 

Ayase Eli (7.08PM): No, she specifically asked for you after all. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.08PM): ok, ill be there in half an hour 

Ayase Eli (7.08PM): See you.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (7.08PM): see u too

* * *

Indeed, it takes only half an hour before the doorbell of Eli’s house rings. She walks to the door, and takes on a huge pondering air before opening the door to see Nozomi on the other end.

“Hi, Nozomi.” Eli speaks up, smiling weakly. 

“Hello.” She nods, taking out her shoes and putting it neatly.

This is so awkward. They are always so close and so happy with each other that the tension right now is so unnerving. 

“Konbanwa, Ayase family.” Nozomi greets Eli’s family who are sitting at the dining table. 

“Nozomi onee-chan!” Alisa chirps, breaking the tension with her cheerfulness. 

“Ara, just nice. We are about to cut Eli’s birthday cake! Come come, join in!” Eli’s mother pulls her in to the group. 

Nozomi then makes eye contact with an older looking woman, and she must be Eli’s grandmother. Although she is slightly frail, the surface of her skin is so smooth, with exception of lines marked across her forehead, and wrinkles by the corners of her mouth. She has a shock of wiry, gray hair that looks properly maintained, and tied into a bun. Nozomi can’t help but see her as she is probably 30, 40 years ago when she is dancer herself. 

Just then, the lights in the living room are dimmed to a minimum, and Eli’s mother and Alisa come out together with a cake in their hand. It is a chocolate-flavoured cake as well. Nozomi smiles at the thought, wanting to tease Eli for being such a princess to have been spoilt with two chocolate cakes in one day, but somehow the mood still isn’t there yet. 

* * *

After the celebration, Eli leads Nozomi into her room. Nozomi brushes her hand across the photographs of Eli and her grandmother along the desk, as Eli looks at the gifts she has accumulated the past day.

“Elicchi.”

“Nozomi.” 

They both speak up at the same time, and when they do, they look away from each other, blushing slightly. 

“You go first, Elicchi.” Nozomi whispers. 

Eli takes a steady breath, and exhales. “I’m sorry for shutting you out like that. I know how much you have planned all these for me, and I do appreciate it. So it was wrong for me to not go through it with you.” 

“You’re wrong, Elicchi.” Nozomi speaks up. She tangles her fingers together nervously. “It’s my fault. Of all the things I paid attention to, I should have remembered you were afraid of the dark. And even if I didn’t blindfold you, tying you up was wrong too. We just started dating, it’s too fast…” Nozomi’s fingers fumble with each other faster, the amount of anxiety pouring into her quickly. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted those erotica sites.” 

“Erotica sites?” Eli arches her eyebrows at Nozomi.

“Uh, well, you see.” Nozomi’s cheeks start to redden. “I was searching on the internet for ideas on birthday surprises, and they linked me to birthday surprises for a partner. I thought it would be relatable since we’re together, but the ideas were all quite suggestive—”

A snort escapes Eli’s mouth, and she quickly cups her hands over it. 

“Mou, don’t laugh at me…” Nozomi drawls out.

“I’m sorry, go on.” Eli says.

“The idea is to tie your partner up and feed them birthday cake.” 

“Well, that’s actually quite normal.” 

Nozomi sighs, shaking her head. “No, birthday cake means your genitals.” 

“Harasho…” Eli mutters. She then takes a few seconds to register the word that comes out of Nozomi’s mouth and her eyes widen. “Wait, what?!” 

“Yes…” Nozomi says, feeling her cheeks become hotter. 

“But of course I can’t do that. So I wanted to just tie you up, and give you some sexy display of me…” 

At this moment, Nozomi is the one who erupts into a loud snort, then delivering peals of laughter. “Now that I think of it, it is a very silly idea.” 

“You were really hot…” Eli says, feeling herself blush. 

“Was I?” 

“Yeah, I was a bit turned on…” She puts her hands to her face. “AHHHH! Forget I said that!” 

“Heheh, Elicchi thinks I’m hot.” Nozomi comments, her facial features relaxing and becoming her normal self.

“Of course, I mean… I’m lucky to have such a hot girlfriend.” Eli whispers softly, averting her glance from Nozomi. 

Nozomi closes the gap in front of Eli, and pulls her chin out to her, willing her to look into her eyes. “Do you want to make up for just now?” 

“I want to make out.” Eli blurts out suddenly. Realising what she just said, she becomes flustered and her eyes dart around nervously. 

“I think I agree.” Nozomi says, slowing pressing her lips to Eli’s. Her eyes slide shut, and her hands slip over Eli’s shoulders. Eli steps closer into Nozomi's arms, feeling the warmth from her girlfriend. She has been waiting too long for this. 

“Happy birthday, Elicchi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh maaaan, I really have a knack for writing long chapters on impulse. I hope the length wasn't too boring and enjoyable enough! On a side note, I have about 3 more chapters laid out for this story, and will probably start on another Nozoeli fic soon! It will be a slightly more angsty and dramatic fic, with all the other ships as well. I will talk about it more soon :) 
> 
> P.S This can be like an advanced birthday fic for Eli's birthday, I guess... Speaking of which I can't wait to scout her on her birthday in October, but there's Kotori's birthday too in the upcoming month and AHHH RIP LOVE GEMS! :'))) (Fun fact: I spent 400+ love gems for Non-chan on her birthday... The things you do for best girl RIP)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated birthday elicchi :") I hope all of you had great scoutings on her birthday! I was rly surprised to scout 2 URs and an SSR. I can't believe I had more luck for her than i had for nozo's bday ;; Anyways even if you didn't have much luck, don't worry, i'm sure it will be better next year! :)  
> \--
> 
> Also, I'm sorry for not updating for so long. I was caught up in a rough patch recently, especially with rejections from writing competitions i entered in :/ But it's all ok because writing fics for you guys make me happy, so I'm back and here ya go!

18\. You’re an angel, grab your halo and lets fly tonight.

 

“I’d rather stay like this.” Eli pouts, leaning in to the purple-head’s neck and nibbling onto it as they lay on Nozomi’s bed together. The both of them have slightly tousled hair and rosy cheeks from a make-out session earlier on. 

Ever since Eli’s birthday, they grown to become less shy with their intimacy between each other and found making out a habit whenever they have a chance to alone. It happened one time in the student council room, and they swear to never do it again after one of the students who wanted to hand in a form almost walked into the room without knocking. Despite that, they tell themselves to never go further as they are still high school students after all. 

“I want to stay with you here too, Elicchi.” Nozomi smiles, letting out a contented sigh as she feels the blonde nibbling on her. She then turns her head away, breaking the contact of Eli’s lips on her neck, and giggles as she sees the annoyed expression on her girlfriend’s face. “But we have to go to the Halloween party. We’re getting late.” 

* * *

Although having the student council to organise a Halloween party is a non-compulsory job, Nozomi insists that they should do it, mainly because she wants to tease Eli. As such, she did everything she could to make sure it was organised well—by having the party to be held in the streets of Akihabara instead, rather than the school. The set up was just like the culture festival they organised few months back, only that it’s in a public space this time. Nozomi even plans out a special trick-or-treat event where students and even students from other school are able to form a group with each other and see who gets the most number of candies just by going up to various houses and asking for them. She managed to get Eli to be more enthusiastic about it by saying that it’s good opportunity to attract more potential students to Otonokizaka too.

“I don’t want to go.” Eli huffs, clinging onto Nozomi further. 

Nozomi lifts her finger and pokes Eli’s nose, causing the blonde to cringe her face in an adorable manner. It’s hard to resist it, but Nozomi won’t allow herself to give in so easily to her. “You’re just scared because it’s Halloween and it’s creepy isn’t it?” 

Eli then detaches herself from her girlfriend and folds her arm together. “Who said I was scared?” She then gets out of Nozomi’s bed and oddly, starts to lift the hoodie off from her body, revealing a glimpse of her abs. 

“Ooh, what is Elicchi doing?” Nozomi drawls out in a pleased tone. 

“Getting ready for the Halloween party because I’m not afraid!” Eli exclaims confidently. 

“Heheh, that’s more like it.” Nozomi giggles, jumping out of her bed and getting ready herself too, not before copping a feel of Eli’s abs. 

* * *

Nozomi, Eli, Kotori, Umi, Honoka and Nico meet up together under Nozomi’s apartment block, each of them dressed in their own chosen Halloween attire. Kotori’s outfit is the most surprising, with her donning a rather bold devil outfit with fishnet stockings. She even had devil wings and horns to accompany her outfit, which is rather impressive. It is unbelievable that the sweet and adorable first year could transform into a bold-looking devil. Umi, who is in a pirate ensemble by her side has been continually showing off her own girlfriend in the most subtle way ever by complimenting Kotori’s sewing ability since she made her own outfit herself, but everyone else there knows that Umi is just low-key fawning over her devilish girlfriend. As for Honoka and Nico, they are both dressed like magicians, since they’re also doubling the outfit as their outfits for their idol performance in the street later.

“I’m very happy to see you wearing the tutu I sewn for you!” Kotori beams excitedly, the possibilities of her ever being a nasty devil stripped from her face. 

“It fits me really well, thank you Kotori.” Eli smiles, as she twirls around, showing her white ballet ensemble. As she looks to her feet, she has on Nozomi’s present—the pointe shoes and she cannot feel any happier to be dressed as a ballerina again, thanks to the help of her friend and her own girlfriend. 

“You look like an angel, Elicchi.” Nozomi winks, linking her arms together with her girlfriend. 

“Mou…” Eli blushes. She could say same for Nozomi, who is dressed in a purple corset dress and an orange and black cape with a mini witch hat on her head. 

“We look so cute!!! Should we have a picture together?” Honoka excitedly takes out her phone, holding it up in front of her.

“Is this another prank to guess the location of the place?” Eli raises her brow at the ginger-haired first year, remembering how everyone was excited to take a picture with her during her birthday only for it to lead to a surprise. 

“Get over it, Eli. Your birthday is over.” Nico says. She then grabs the phone from Honoka’s hand and positions it in from of them. “Let me take it! We say Nico-Nico-Nii on count 3 okay!” 

The other girls shoot amused glances with each other, and turn back to face the phone that Nico is holding up in front of them.

“1,2, Nico Nico—”

“CHEESE!” Before can finish her signature Nico-Nico-Nii saying, the other girls around her decide to say another thing on the count of 3 instead, which is the typical ‘cheese’. 

However, instead of bickering with them, Nico calmly returns the phone back to Honoka, and curls her lips in a slow, dramatic manner. “You guys won’t listen, right?” She says in a deep voice. 

“Ni-Nico, calm down.” Umi stutters, seeing the sudden change of attitude from the twin-tailed girl. 

“Yeah, we were just joking around, Nico-chan.” Kotori tries to plead in the softest tone she could muster. 

“We thought Nicocchi’s Nico-Nico-Nii will take too long to say out.” Nozomi simply confesses, though she is mostly teasing. 

Nico narrows her glance at Nozomi upon her comment, and gives an exaggerated huff. “Well then, since all of you don’t want to cooperate with me…” She then takes the hat that she is wearing and extends it out to the girls. “I will make all of you disappear into this.” She continues to say, in an attempt to go with her magician persona. 

“Nicocchi, sorry but—” Nozomi cups her hand to conceal her laughter. “That is the lamest magic trick ever.” 

“Nozomi!!!” Nico goes in front of Nozomi and beats against her chest repeatedly. 

Upon noticing the sight of Nico actually making contact with Nozomi’s chest, although unknowingly, Eli charges in between them, pointing an accusatory finger at the shorter girl. “Nico, would you like to stop abusing my witch?”

Taking advantage of his situation where they are basically using their halloween outfits as a temporary persona, Kotori then fits herself by Eli’s side with a smirk on her face. “Nico, please go on and do whatever you were doing just now. You know you want to defy the angel and listen to me.” 

“Kotori?” Eli breathes out, shocked by the personality change in Kotori.

As for Nico, she finds herself caught in between an angel and devil situation, and she no longer knows what to do now. To listen to the student council president, or to go ahead with the maid-turned-devil?

“Girls can we carry on with what we have to do? Otherwise I’m going to keep all of you locked up in my pirate ship.” Umi’s partially stern voice pierces the sudden silence of the area. Needless to say, the decent Sonoda Umi has joined the halloween persona facade as well. 

* * *

Turns out, it wasn’t just the girls who got roped in to the halloween mood as well. As they went around the houses in Nozomi’s apartment block, the people who they approached played along with the girls and did some pretty hilarious antics before rewarding them with their candy as well.

“Trick or treat!” 

The door opens to reveal a middle-aged woman, with hint of wrinkles marked across her forehead as she greeted them. “Ara ara, are all of you sisters?” She bends slightly to be at the same eye length as Nico, and smiles graciously. “Could this be your youngest sister? She’s very cute?” 

“What are you talking about, oba-san? I’ll have you know I’m of the same age as miss blonde stalin and titty woman here!” Nico snaps, tiptoeing slightly as she huffs at the older woman. 

“Wait, Nico, that’s really rude!” Eli steps forward, cupping the shorter girl’s mouth. 

“Heheh, aren’t the youngest sisters always the most energetic?” The older woman continues, unbothered by Nico’s brash forwardness. 

Nico continues to seethe with rage, and the other girls try to prevent Nico from lashing out further by distracting the older woman with small talks. 

“Alright, you have a good halloween girls!” Eventually, the woman fills up the girls’ basket with assorted candies, and they move on to the next house. 

“I hate her.” Nico blows out angrily. 

“Mou, mou, don’t take it to heart, dearest imoutou-san!” Nozomi chirps, patting Nico’s head half-teasingly and half-affectionately. 

“I hate you too, Nozotits!!!!” Nico cries out, pushing the purple-haired away from her. 

The rest of the girls can’t help but to laugh along, much to Nico’s agony. 

* * *

Next, they are greeted by a tall, teenaged guy who has the same shade of sandy blonde hair like Eli’s. From the look of his blue-coloured eyes, he could have been a foreigner, or mostly likely, come from a mixed-parentage. His glance lingers on Eli’s automatically, and his blue eyes seem to light up instantly. Noticing this exchange of glances, Nozomi narrows her glance at him, and holds on to Eli’s hand tightly by her side. 

“Trick or treat!” Kotori says, breaking the silence. 

“Oh, it’s halloween huh?” He speaks up, his Japanese accent surprisingly fluent. 

“Yes, are you not aware?” Umi says. 

He grins, showing off his dimples and swipes past the loose bangs across his forehead. “Well, yes I do know of it. We had that a lot in Russia, trick-or-treating and whatsoever. I just didn’t know Japanese people did that as well.” 

“You’re from Russia?” Eli asks. 

The guy’s eyes fleet over to Eli’s instantly, as if charmed by her or something and Nozomi feels a tinge of uneasiness gnaw at her heart. She tightens her grip on Eli’s hand, and stares hard into the guy’s eyes. 

“Yeah, I am. Just moved here not long ago because my mother remarried to a Japanese man.” 

“Harasho, I’m quarter-russian.” Eli replies with a smile. 

“I knew you were when I saw you, miss.” 

From the way he talks, there’s something alluring about him. It’s like how Nozomi got attracted to Eli when she was first talked to her. Maybe it was just the way these Russian people seemed to carry themselves. Still, Nozomi is not going let herself be swayed from the foreigner’s admittedly winning smile and charming dimples. 

Nozomi makes eye contacts with the rest of the girls, and they seem to read the rather flirtatious mood that is happening right now, but none of them dare to speak up. But of course, Nozomi should be responsible. She is Eli’s girlfriend after all. 

Nozomi clears her throat and stands up straighter. “Excuse me, but trick-or-treat!” 

“Oh yes! Candy! We need candy!” Honoka chimes in, and Nozomi secretly wants to hug Honoka for trying to divert the attention together with her. 

“Oh, right.” He chuckles, moving his head to get his bangs away from his forehead again. Seriously, if the thinks doing such a thing is attractive, then it’s not going to work on all of them—especially when there are four lesbians here—

But Eli seems to be attracted. She is smiling gleefully, unable to take her eyes away from the guy. 

“Elicchi!” Nozomi calls out, tugging her hand that she is holding on to.

But Eli doesn’t respond.

“Mou, Eli!” 

It isn’t until she carefully follows Eli’s glance that she sees the stash of chocolate in the guy’s hands. 

She looks back at Eli again, who doesn’t seem to take her eyes away from the chocolate. 

“What? Do you like chocolate that much, _krasivaya [beautiful]_?” 

“Y-y-yes, it’s Russian chocolate.” Eli drawls out, as if completely hypnotised by the chocolate. 

It’s not that bad that Eli is more attracted to the chocolate rather than the guy, but Nozomi is still frustrated that she can’t seem to read the mood the guy is giving out. With some ample knowledge of the Russian language, Nozomi knows that he just blatantly called her beautiful in Russian. 

“Japanese chocolate is nicer!” Nozomi raises her voice, tugging Eli away from the guy. 

“Ow, Nozomi!” Eli comes back to her senses when she realises that Nozomi is tugging at her really forcefully. 

“Hmph, I can give you as much chocolate as you want. You want homemade one? I can make them. You want me to buy them? I can buy every single chocolate on the shelf!” Nozomi says indignantly. 

“Wh-wha-what’s going on?” Eli blinks, looking at Nozomi and at the rest of the girls. 

“Um, Nico-Nico-No chocolate!” Nico suddenly bursts out, and waves bye to the guy. 

“Hm?” The guy looks back at them, tilting his head in confusion. 

“Sorry, but we would like to decline your treat.” Umi speaks up in defense for all of them.” 

“But—”

“Goodbye!” Nozomi shouts as she drags Eli away from the guy. The rest of them follow until they are out of clear from the guy’s house. 

* * *

“Nozomi! Why are you acting so weird?” Eli says finally, trying to break free from Nozomi’s tight grasp.

“Why are you so baka Elicchi! Can’t you tell he was flirting with you?” The features on the purple-haired’s face darkens as she mulls over the sight of the guy flirting with her girlfriend. 

“Yeah, he was being really shady and flirtatious…” Kotori says, lips curling downwards to form a sombre expression. 

“He was? I really wasn’t paying attention. The chocolate was there and—” At the moment, Eli puts her face close to her girlfriend’s as a smirk overcomes her face. “Were you jealous, Nozomi?”

Nozomi’s face starts to redden, and she quickly turns away. “I’m not! I don’t want to talk to baka Elicchi anymore!” She starts to storm off away from the group, leaving the rest behind. 

“Nozomi…?” Eli reaches out to her, but Nozomi is already straying further away from her. 

Seeing the tense situation that is happening right now, Umi and Nico assure Eli that they will take care of Nozomi and proceed to follow her behind, leaving only Eli, Kotori and Honoka alone now. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Eli asks, creasing her forehead and sighing deeply. 

“I don’t know a lot about relationships,” Honoka scratches her head embarrassingly, “but I do know that Nozomi-chan was jealous.” 

“I would be mad if someone flirted with Umi-chan that way too…” Kotori sighs.

“So what do I do now?” Eli drops her head, staring at the ground guiltily. She is really such a dense Elichika sometimes.

* * *

“Nozomi, please calm down. I don’t think Eli meant for that to happen.” Umi places an assuring hand on top of Nozomi’s shoulder, rubbing it slightly.

“Eh? Umi-chan is being touchy with me!” Nozomi quips, smiling lightly. Upon hearing that, Umi immediately retracts her hands and keeps them to herself. 

“What the hell Nozomi? First you were upset and now you’re teasing Umi? Why did we even follow you?” Nico exclaims. 

“It’s just an observation.” Nozomi replies, winking at a rather flushed Umi. 

“Do you think I was overreacting?” She continues to say. 

“Not really. Now you know how I feel about that oba-san who called me the youngest sister.” Nico pouts. 

“But you really are the youngest sister.” Nozomi pokes at Nico’s cheek, causing her to puff up her chest and shoot her a stern glance. 

“I know how you feel, Nozomi. There are more guys coming to the maid cafe where Kotori works now, and whenever they try to flirt with her—”

“You want to get your bow and arrow and shoot them right?” Nozomi follows up automatically, remembering the conversation she had with Umi alone before when Umi confided in her about her feelings for Kotori. 

“Yes… That.” Umi blushes. 

“I don’t understand all this love thing sometimes.” Nico says, in an attempt to sound uninterested. 

“You’ll know it when it comes to you, Nicocchi.” Nozomi winks. She then leans close to Nico’s ear. “Speaking of which, I hear you freaking out over a cute red-haired person during the Autumn firework festival…” 

“Uhh shut up! I don’t! Just because all of you like girls doesn’t mean I do!” Nico denies. 

“Heheh, sure you don’t.” 

After spending some time alone with Umi and Nico, she realises that she really shouldn’t have walked off like that just because she was feeling jealous, and is ready to apologise to Eli when she sees her again later. 

* * *

Eli and Kotori arrive first in front of a set-up stage at the entertainment centre in Akihabara, while Nico and Honoka make their way backstage to prepare for their halloween idol performance later on. It is surprising that the event has attracted a number of people already. Seeing this makes Eli’s heart flutter with excitement at the prospect of Otonokizaka getting the attention from a public event. And all these wouldn’t have been possible without Nozomi too…

Suddenly, she feels a tap on her back, and turns around to face a pair of familiar turquoise eyes. 

“Hi, Elicchi.” 

“Nozomi.” Eli answers, feeling her heartbeat pick up pace. 

“Umi-chan, let’s go to the front! I want to get a good view of Honoka-chan!” Kotori says, and the two of them then proceed to the front, leaving Nozomi and Eli alone. 

“Nozomi, I’m sor—” 

Eli’s words are cut off as Nozomi holds on to her wrist, gently this time. She leads Eli out of the crowd, and into a less crowded area. There are still distant sounds of people cheering as Honoka and Nico start to make their appearance on stage, but all Eli can do now is to pay attention to the purple-haired beauty in front of her. 

“Nozo—”

Once again, Eli’s words are cut off when Nozomi pulls her into an embrace, and all Eli can do is to melt in the warmth of being in Nozomi’s arms. Since her back is half exposed due to her wearing the ballet outfit, she can feel a sudden dampness on her back, and as soon as she can hear whimpering coming from Nozomi, she knows that she is crying. 

 

_“Nico-Nico-Nii!! Everyone, do it with me!”_

_“Mou, Nico-chan! We don’t have time for that! We need to start the performance now!”_

 

“I’m sorry for leaving you like that just because I was jealous, Elicchi.” Nozomi speaks softly, in between whimpers. 

“Don’t apologise, silly.” Eli caresses the back of Nozomi’s head softly while still in an embrace with her. “It’s my fault anyway. I should have been more observant towards my surroundings.” 

“Why do you have to like chocolate so much?” A hint of laughter escapes Nozomi’s throat as she sniffles. 

Eli then slowly breaks off from the hug, and they stand in front of each other. The blonde lifts up both hands and cups Nozomi’s cheeks, gently rubbing away the tears from her face. “I don’t like chocolate that much.”

She leans in and presses a tender kiss to Nozomi’s tear-stained cheek on her left. “I.” 

She then moves to her right cheek. “Love.” 

Lifting Nozomi’s chin slightly, she brushes the purple bangs away from her forehead and kisses her girlfriend’s forehead. “You more.” 

“Mou…” Nozomi’s face reddens as a smile cracks from her face. “You’re so cliche, Elicchi.” 

 

_“Thank you so much! We hoped you liked that perfomance!”_

_“Wait, Honoka! Do you see that red-haired girl over there?”_

_“What red-haired girl?”_

_“There!!”_

_“Where???”_

_“She has a mean look on her face! Ah see, Nico-chan! You frightened her away!”_

 

“Would you rather I like chocolate more or be cliche?” Eli teases, booping Nozomi’s nose. 

“I like Elicchi just the way she is.” 

“Mou, are you sure about that Nozomi?” 

“Yes, I’m sure.” Nozomi buries her head in Eli’s chest and wraps her arms around her girlfriend tightly. 

Nozomi then feels the material of the ballet leotard Eli is wearing, and smiles in the embrace. “Hey angel ballerina Elicchi, will you teach me how to dance?”

* * *

**OMAKE:**

Kousaka Honoka (10.02PM): aaaaah, we didn’t win the trick or treat competition in the end :(

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.02PM): i’m sorry ●︿● if only i wasn’t so rude to the russian guy we would have gotten his advantage of chocolates…

Ayase Eli (10.02PM): I’m sorry too, guys. 

Yazawa Nico (10.03PM): nozomi do you still have to bring that up?!!!

Yazawa Nico (10.03PM): anyways!!!! let’s talk about how great that idol performance was!!!

Yazawa Nico (10.03PM): also the red hair girl was there agaiN!! but when i tried to call her out she gave me a dirty look on her face and walked away!!!!!!

Kousaka Honoka (10.05PM): i told you not to call her out already nico!

Sonoda Umi (10.05PM): Wow, Nico is talking a lot for once.

Yazawa Nico (10.05PM): but she's so cute!!!!!! maybe she just got too obsessed with me and is acting like some tsundere and playing hard to get

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.06PM): nicocchi, your gay is showing ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.06PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.06PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.06PM): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sonoda Umi (10.07PM): It’s that face again… 

Ayase Eli (10.07PM): I agree, this is the longest time Nico has stayed in our group without her leaving it. 

Yazawa Nico has left the group. 

Ayase Eli (10.08PM): Well… 

Minami Kotori (10.08PM): Actually i know something about the red hair girl nico was talking about. 

Kousaka Honoka (10.08PM): let’s add her in again!

Ayase Eli added Yazawa Nico into the chat. 

Yazawa Nico has left the group.

Kousaka Honoka (10.09PM): …

Kousaka Honoka (10.08PM): kotori chan, type out what you have to say to nico first and then send it as soon as eli chan adds her back into the group!!

Minami Kotori (10.09PM): on it!! (＾▽＾)

Ayase Eli (10.12PM): Are you done Kotori? 

Minami Kotori (10.13PM): yesss! (＾▽＾)

Ayase Eli added Yazawa Nico into the chat.

Minami Kotori (10.13PM): Nico-chan, the girl’s name is Maki. i heard that she was going to join otonokizaka with her friends when i passed by them just now. 

Yazawa Nico (10.13PM): really?!!!! but that will mean ill be in the 3rd year once she comes in.

Minami Kotori (10.13PM): At least she still intends to come to the school (*＾▽＾)／

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.14PM): awww nicocchi has a crush!

Yazawa Nico (10.14PM): I. DO. NOT. 

Sonoda Umi (10.15PM): … 

Sonoda Umi (10.15PM): We’re all gay.

Kousaka Honoka (10.16PM): i’m not!!!!

Minami Kotori (10.16PM): ehehe 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.17PM): Forwarded Message | From: Sonoda Umi | We’re all gay.

Sonoda Umi (10.17PM): You didn’t have to forward that… 

Ayase Eli (10.18PM): Asides from that, I’m really happy that more middle school students are interested in joining our school. :) 

Kousaka Honoka (10.18PM): what a student council president thing to say, eli chan

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.19PM): you’re so cute, elicchi ♡♡

Yazawa Nico (10.20PM): ugh…. this is getting yuri

Minami Kotori (10.20PM): not as cute as my umi-chan!!! (´・ω・`)

Sonoda Umi (10.21PM): Kotori….. Come on…. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.21PM): elicchiiiiiiii i love u 

Minami Kotori (10.21PM): umi kiss me ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (10.22PM): elicchiiiiiiiiii ♡ 

Yazawa Nico has left the group.

Kousaka Honoka has left the group. 

Ayase Eli (10.22PM): Well…


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note made on 13 Dec 2017: A kind AO3 reader who lives in Russia told me that they don't usually celebrate Christmas in their country, and when I went to double check the user was right because Russians actually celebrate on another date, or not at all! So with regards to me writing about Eli celebrating Christmas on the actual 25th December in Russia, that is mistake on my part so I hope you'll forgive me for it. Other than that, everything else should be okay so enjoy this chapter! :)

19\. Cause I'm never going down, I'm never giving up. I'm never gonna leave, So put your hands up.

 

December.

There have been a flurry of events happening in December so far, first: the Christmas party that was set up by the student council and collaborated with other clubs in school to celebrate Christmas before the winter school break. And then the school break came, and Nozomi and Eli found themselves spending a lot of time at each other’s places, either cuddling, snuggling, or when the felt like it, they’d end up making out. Sometimes they would go out for dates, and of course the typical high school boys would wolf-whistle in their direction in an attempt to flirt with them, but neither of them had their shit. They would continue their tradition of instead, flirting with each other to drive away those boys, and it would remain as a humorous highlight during their dates. 

What Nozomi did not realise is that she will find herself standing in the airport on December 21st, sending Eli and her family off to the departure gate. 

“Have fun in Russia, Eli!” Nozomi forces herself to put up a happy front to wish her girlfriend. It’s not easy, having to hear the love of her life will be away for a week to go back to her hometown to celebrate Christmas, but Nozomi knows that she can’t be selfish too. Eli has told her that celebrating Christmas in Russia has always been a tradition, and she most certainly can’t deny her favourite grandmother either. So, Nozomi decides to be happy for Eli, even though she can’t spend her first Christmas together with her. 

“I will, you too okay Nozomi?” Eli smiles. She contemplates going up to cup her girlfriend’s supple cheek and caress it, but refrains herself from doing so because her whole family is there after all. She then looks at the gathered crowd around Nozomi, and smiles to each of them. “And all of you, you better take care of Nozomi while I’m away!” 

And that is when Eli realises her plan to be subtle about her affections for Nozomi has backfired. With a deep flush on her cheeks, she quickly clears her throat, “I mean, she’s my best friend and I don’t want anything to happen to my best friend while I’m gone!” She can see that the group of girls are trying to hold their laughter, and she sighs in embarrassment. 

“Yes!! That means we can meet each other everyday for fun!” Honoka jumps up in excitement. 

Umi then goes over to chop her head playfully, to which the ginger-haired winces and pouts at Umi. “All you ever think about is play, Honoka. You have to prepare for your second-year too! Mou… You barely got through your first-year.” 

“Maa maa, Umi-chan, but we have to listen to Eli-chan right? She’s the student council president after all!” Kotori chirps up by her side. 

The blue-haired then sighs in defeat, most noticeably because she is ever so ready to obey her girlfriend willingly. “I guess so…” 

“Well my juniors, second-year was a breeze for me, so it will be fine!” Nico puffs up her chest and brags. 

Nozomi then goes over to her, with her washi-washi hand motion in place. “Is that so, Nicocchi? Do you want to let everyone know how you almost failed your engli—”

“Shut up, tiddy!” Nico yells, as she guards her chest area with her hands protectively. 

Eli lets out a light giggle at the sight of her friends. Even though it’s only a week, she’s going to miss the company of them. She looks towards Nozomi, who is acting normal and smiling, even though she knows that’s not her true emotions. She’s going to miss her the most. 

“Thank you for seeing Eli off, girls. We have to go in now.” Eli’s mother pipes up, breaking the chatters among the girls. 

“Oh.” The corners of Nozomi’s eyes droop slightly. Quickly enough, she perks herself up again, and flashes a wide smile as she lifts up her hand and waves them slowly. “Have a safe flight, Elicchi and family.” 

“We will hang out soon, Nozomi onee-chan!” Alisa, who is beside Eli’s side perks up happily. 

“Hai, hai, we will, heheh. I will hang out with you more than I will with your onee-chan!” Nozomi teases, patting the shorter blonde’s hair affectionately.

“Wow that’s really mean, Nozomi.” Eli feigns a hurt look. 

“I’m kidding, eheheh.” 

“Goodbye Eli-chan! Have a safe flight!” Honoka says next. 

“Take lots of pictures and send it to us in the group chat! Especially any cheesecake if you see it!” Kotori joins in. 

“Have fun… I guess, and merry christmas.” Nico says with a stoic look on her face, although there is no denying that there is a slight crinkle beside her lip as she says it. 

“Have a safe flight, Eli. We’ll see you in a week.” Umi is the last of them to convey her well-wishes. 

“Thank you, everyone. We’ll chat a lot in our chat group!” Eli waves to them. She then narrows her glance at Nico, putting on a stern look on her face, “and I’ll make sure that a certain someone won’t keep leaving the group.” 

“W-what? It’s because you guys can be so annoying sometimes, hmph!” Nico crosses her arms in defence. 

“That’s mean, Nico!” Honoka exclaims. 

While the girls continue to bicker in the background, Eli makes a step towards Nozomi, and wraps her in her arms. During their embrace, she can feel Nozomi shaking a little, and that’s all she needs to know that Nozomi is upset. It makes her feel sad, and a little guilty too, but she knows that her girlfriend will be safe in the company of her friends. Eli then goes to Nozomi’s ear, and whispers, “I love you, Nozomi.”

“Elicchi…” Nozomi says in a hushed tone. “I love you too.” 

* * *

Once Eli and her family disappears out of sight as they go into the departure hall, Nozomi is left alone with her friends.

“Alright, I’m hungry! Shall we eat something?” Honoka says, breaking the silence, and also attempting to liven up the mood of her purple-haired senpai.

“I’m thinking of some sashimi today.” Nico suggests. 

“SASHIMI????” Everyone else exclaims, slightly alarmed. 

“What?” Nico throws herself back slightly, with everyone’s eyes on her. 

“Isn’t sashimi too expensive for us students?” Umi says.

“Eh, really?” 

“Let’s go to a fast food restaurant!” Nozomi pipes up, to which she becomes the new subject of gazes from the girls. 

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped, let’s go then.” Nico says begrudgingly. 

* * *

Eli can not count the number of times she has switched movies on the mini television monitor in front of her on the plane. No matter what she watches, it can’t take away her thoughts of Nozomi from her mind. Even the last movie that she played was Kimi No Na Wa, the first movie that Eli and Nozomi have both watched together. It wasn’t a date back then, but it is particularly worth remembering seeing that Eli was a frantic mess trying to ask Nozomi out for that movie. She smiles in nostalgia, and lays back in her seat after various futile attempts to distract herself with the airplane’s entertainment. 

“Onee-chan?” Alisa’s voice surfaces from beside her. 

“Hm? What is it Alisa?”

“Do you miss Nozomi-onee chan?” 

“W-what?” Eli widens her eyes, feeling herself grow bashful with that comment. 

“Do you want to be with her now?” 

“Uh, well, yeah I do. I mean I spend most of my days with her, so it’s quite weird to know that you’ll be away from a close friend for so long, right?” 

Alisa nods, pouting a little as she does so. “I know. I will miss hanging out with Yukiho too.” 

So Eli isn’t alone after all. Though she is pretty certain the way her younger sister misses her best friend is simply platonic, and not the kind of dreadful longing that Eli has for Nozomi since they’re in a relationship with each other. She then pats her sister’s head lightly, and boops her nose. “Silly. We’ll only be gone for a week. And we’ll get to be with oba-sama!” 

“Hmmm that’s right!” The younger blonde perks up, almost a change of mood coming from her. 

Eli smiles, and returns to her seat as she gazes out of the airplane window by her side. 

_We’ll only be gone for a week, huh._

* * *

“Ah, that was fun.” Umi breathes out into her microphone, as she steps out in order for everyone to view her score on the television screen.

After their lunch at a fast food restaurant, Nico then suggests for them to go to the karaoke station for fun, but everyone knows the idol-obsessed girl is just using this as an opportunity to show off her idol-singing skills. Regardless, they all agreed because it is something fun they haven’t done as a group before. 

Sitting around the karaoke machine, the girls drumroll until the television screen shows Umi’s score, which is at 97%. 

“97%………..” Nico states, paralysed with shock. She got a 94% earlier, and with Kotori having a 90% and Honoka with a 92%, she figures no one will beat her score. Unfortunately for her, Umi has gone and taken the crown from her. 

“Woah! That is the highest so far!” Honoka stands up and points to the screen in shock. “Mouu Umi-chan, if you’re so good at singing why do you not want to join our idol club!” 

“I told you, I’m not interested.” Umi says defiantly. She then returns to her seat beside Kotori, and the ash-brown haired girl squeezes her girlfriend into a tight hug proudly. 

Nozomi smiles at the display of affection between those two, and elsewhere, her mind is thinking of Eli. She is still on the plane now, so she obviously can’t contact her. However, that doesn’t stop her from thinking fondly of her girlfriend. 

“The next song is a duet!” Honoka exclaims. She points the microphone towards Nozomi with eager eyes. “Nozomi-chan hasn’t sung yet, she should go!”

“Oh, okay!” Nozomi grabs the microphone from her, but that is only when she realises—she doesn’t have a duet partner. 

“Ohhh, ohhh no no no!” Honoka realises her mistake, and quickly takes the microphone away from Nozomi. “I’m sorry about that, maybe Umi-chan can go again, but with Kotori-chan this time.”She says, red-faced. 

“Ehehe, you don’t have to be so considerate, Honoka-chan. I can sing.” Nozomi assures. 

“Oh, okay then Nozomi-chan.” Honoka passes the microphone to her. 

“Then…” Nozomi scans around the room, until her glance deepens on Nico with a teasing gaze. “I will do it with Nicocchi!” 

“Eughhhhh! What’s with that stare of yours?” Nico asks, leaning back into her seat in fright. 

“Nothing!!! Sing with me, Nicocchi!” 

“F-fine… Just stop looking at me like that!” 

* * *

As soon as Eli arrives in Russia, she frantically searches for a wifi spot to connect to the internet on her phone. Eli usually enjoys the ten-hour flight from Tokyo to Russia, and often utilises the time well by catching up on sleep or studying on the plane. However, that flight she just landed from was considerably horrible, or maybe it is just because the purple-haired girl has never left her mind. It might be crazy, seeing that she’s so overly attached to Nozomi, and it’s not like she’s leaving Tokyo for a long time, but she just can’t stop herself from missing her.

The 3 bars show up on Eli’s phone, and she gasps internally as she quickly opens up her chats. Nozomi has sent her a few, and she immediately presses on her name and reads the messages.

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.21PM) [Russian timing 3.21PM]: uwaaah it’s been such a long day!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.21PM) [Russian timing 3.21PM]: i hung out with kotori, umi, honoka and nicocchi today, we even went to sing karaoke together! ( ´ ▽ ` )b

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.22PM) [Russian timing 3.22PM]: i think they were mostly trying to cheer me up though… i felt like i was being treated like a queen today, heheh. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (8.22PM) [Russian timing 3.22PM]: ohhh but don't worry, i’m not that sad （‐＾▽＾‐） 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.40PM) [Russian timing 4.40PM]: i take it back, i miss you (◕︿◕✿) 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.40PM) [Russian timing 4.40PM]: oh my what am i doing, being all needy like that. how are we going to survive long distance if this keeps up?

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (9.40PM) [Russian timing 4.40PM]: anyway ill see u when u arrive, elicchi!

* * *

Reading those texts make Eli’s heart ache more, and if she could, she wishes she can just turn back and snag a flight back to Tokyo. But obviously that wouldn’t work. She checks the time on the phone, and it has been two hours since Nozomi has sent her last message. It must be close to midnight in Tokyo now, and Eli wonders if Nozomi is still awake. Nevertheless, she types in her reply.

Ayase Eli (11.53PM) [Russian timing 6.53PM]: HI NOZOMI IM HERE IN RUSSIA

Eli doesn’t expect Nozomi to reply instantly, but as soon as she sees that Nozomi has come online and is typing a message, her heart picks up pace. 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.53PM) [Russian timing 6.53PM]: is that really elicchi? elicchi doesn’t type like that

Ayase Eli (11.53PM) [Russian timing 6.53PM]: I was excited to see you, okay… 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: aww elicchi is such puppy~

Ayase Eli (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: I am not!

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: ehehe, yes u areeee (＾▽＾)

Ayase Eli (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: Anyway, were you getting to ready to sleep? Did I disturb you? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: i wasn’t

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.54PM) [Russian timing 6.54PM]: i was waiting for u 

* * *

“Oba-sama!!!!!!!” Alisa screams, and Eli turns to where Alisa is running towards. She can see her grandmother walking into sight, picking them up from the airport. She smiles at the sight of her grandmother, and although they have just seen her on her birthday in Tokyo in October, it still feels like a long time since meeting her.

Ayase Eli (11.55PM) [Russian timing 6.55PM]: Aren’t you tired? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.55PM) [Russian timing 6.55PM]: nope, not really hehe

Ayase Eli (11.55PM) [Russian timing 6.55PM]: Baka. 

Ayase Eli (11.55PM) [Russian timing 6.55PM]: My oba-sama is here to pick us up, I’ll text you later, or maybe tomorrow if you’re already sleeping okay? 

Nozomi ( ´ ▽ ` )b (11.55PM) [Russian timing 6.55PM]: okay! see u elicchi (＾▽＾) 

* * *

“Oba-sama!” Eli calls out as she hugs her grandmother tightly. 

“It’s nice to see you again, my dear Elichika!” Her grandmother says, hugging her back even tighter. As they pull out from their hug, she shoots an inquisitive gaze at her granddaughter. “Aren’t you going to miss your girlfriend when you’ll be here for Christmas?” 

“Mou, oba-sama! Eli chides. She is used to her grandmother’s playfulness, but the fact that she acknowledges Nozomi as Eli’s girlfriend so easily still astounds her. “Christmas in Russia is a tradition, so it’s alright.” 

* * *

Once Eli settles down in her childhood home in Russia, she takes out her phone, ready to text Nozomi again. She readies herself for a conversation that will not happen, since it has been at least more than an hour from the airport to her home.

Ayase Eli (1.12AM) [Russian timing 8.12PM]: I’m back home! 

Eli then snaps a 360 degrees video of her bedroom, and sends it to the chat. 

_Ayase Eli sends an attachment: VIDEO_

Ayase Eli (1.12AM) [Russian timing 8.12PM]: I think you’re probably sleeping now, but I just wanted to show you my room! 

Eli then checks through her email while waiting for Nozomi’s reply. Her girlfriend’s replies are always instant, so with the absence of an immediate text, she knows that Nozomi is already asleep. 

Ayase Eli (1.12AM) [Russian timing 8.12PM]: Goodnight, Nozomi. 

Ayase Eli (1.12AM) [Russian timing 8.12PM]: It’s one day down! 

Ayase Eli (1.12AM) [Russian timing 8.12PM]: I love you. ♡

* * *

As if the distance is a barrier enough, the time difference has to be as well. Eli groans and flops down onto her bed, sighing heavily. She has never experienced something so hard now, but she guesses it’s what this thing called love does to people. Her mind wanders to her other friends in Tokyo, and she springs up in bed as an idea crosses her mind. She takes her phone and opens up the chat window again, then clicking onto the “CREATE NEW GROUP” function. She adds Kotori, Umi, Nico and Honoka into the group, remembering not to add Nozomi as part of her impromptu plan.

Ayase Eli has created a new group. 

Ayase Eli added Minami Kotori, Sonoda Umi, Yazawa Nico and Kousaka Honoka into the group. 

Ayase Eli (1.15AM) [Russian timing 8.15PM]: Hey girls, I know it’s very late right now and I apologise for disturbing your sleep. 

Ayase Eli (1.15AM) [Russian timing 8.15PM]: I created this group without Nozomi because I want to discuss something with you all. But I’ll tell you more tomorrow when you are all awake! 

Before Eli can exit the chat and turn off her phone, a new notification pops up. 

Kousaka Honoka (1.16AM) [Russian timing 8.16PM]: sleep is for the weak! its winter break so i am always pulling an all nighter!!!!!

Sonoda Umi (1.16AM) [Russian timing 8.16PM]: Pulling an all-nighter reading manga? 

Sonoda Umi (1.16AM) [Russian timing 8.16PM]: Anyway, what’s up Eli? 

Kousaka Honoka (1.16AM) [Russian timing 8.16PM]: hidoi!!!!! i am lazy to read a book even though there’s pictures on it….. i am watching idol videos all night! 

Yazawa Nico (1.17AM) [Russian timing 8.17PM]: ha, what a nerd

Kousaka Honoka (1.17AM) [Russian timing 8.17PM]: SAYS YOU!!!!

Ayase Eli (1.17AM) [Russian timing 8.17PM]: You girls are lively as usual.

Kousaka Honoka (1.17AM) [Russian timing 8.17PM]: ahhhh yes yes, eli chan why the group??

Ayase Eli (1.17AM) [Russian timing 8.17PM]: Well, you see… I don’t know if it’s too selfish of me to do so, but I have a favour to ask of all of you. 

Minami Kotori (1.18AM) [Russian timing 8.18PM]: i’m here! （‐＾▽＾‐）

Yazawa Nico (1.18AM) [Russian timing 8.18PM]: what is it????

Ayase Eli (1.18AM) [Russian timing 8.18PM]: Will you spend Christmas Eve with Nozomi? I know it’s really selfish of me, because you might have plans with your family, but if all of you are able to, I’ll appreciate it! 

Sonoda Umi (1.19AM) [Russian timing 8.19PM]: Sure, my family doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, so I’ll be fine with it. 

Ayase Eli (1.19AM) [Russian timing 8.19PM]: Thank you!! 

Kousaka Honoka (1.21AM) [Russian timing 8.21PM]: yes I can!!!!!! i’m sure nozomi chan will love our company!!!

Yazawa Nico (1.21AM) [Russian timing 8.21PM]: well….. our juniors are so enthusiastic for this. it would be a shame if i turned this favour down too. 

Ayase Eli (1.22AM) [Russian timing 8.22PM]: Thank you girls so much. Kotori? 

Kousaka Honoka (1.22AM) [Russian timing 8.22PM]: kotori chan has been oddly quiet hasnt she…….

Sonoda Umi (1.23AM) [Russian timing 8.23PM]: her phone died!!!!!

Sonoda Umi (1.23AM) [Russian timing 8.23PM]: oh its me, kotori heh heh （‐＾▽＾‐）

Yazawa Nico (1.23AM) [Russian timing 8.23PM]: seeing those emoticons coming from umi’s username is unsettling

Sonoda Umi (1.24AM) [Russian timing 8.24PM]: heheh, i’m having a sleepover at umi chan’s house!!

Kousaka Honoka (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: why did everyone stop talking? :o

Ayase Eli (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: I’m not going to lie, I was waiting for Nozomi to come in and text her weird face emoticon after reading that last message about the sleepover.

Kousaka Honoka (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: you mean this?

Kousaka Honoka (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

Ayase Eli (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: Yes…

Sonoda Umi (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: omg i remember that!!!! hahahah

Sonoda Umi (1.27AM) [Russian timing 8.27PM]: oh and sorry i didn’t answer u, eli chan, but i can make it for christmas eve with nozomi chan too! （‐＾▽＾‐）

Ayase Eli (1.29AM) [Russian timing 8.29PM]: Thank you all so much, honestly. I don’t know how I can repay you all.

Sonoda Umi (1.29AM) [Russian timing 8.29PM]: it’s okay we’re friends!!! :D

Kousaka Honoka (1.29AM) [Russian timing 8.29PM]: just get me some russian bread and i’m fine!!!!

Yazawa Nico (1.30AM) [Russian timing 8.30PM]: nozomi’s my classmate too, so it’s not that big of a deal 

Ayase Eli (1.30AM) [Russian timing 8.30PM]: Thank you :)

Sonoda Umi (1.31AM) [Russian timing 8.31PM]: It’s me, Umi. 

Sonoda Umi (1.31AM) [Russian timing 8.31PM]: I know I agreed to your plan, but are you sure you’re not coming back for Christmas, Eli? I’m sure Nozomi would want you here.

Ayase Eli (1.31AM) [Russian timing 8.31PM]: Trust me, I would love to. But going back to Russia to celebrate Christmas has always been a family tradition, so I doubt I can come back earlier. 

Sonoda Umi (1.31AM) [Russian timing 8.31PM]: I see, I guess it can’t be helped. 

Kousaka Honoka (1.32AM) [Russian timing 8.32PM]: its okay!! we will make nozomi happy!!! faito dayo!!!!

Ayase Eli (1.32AM) [Russian timing 8.32PM]: I believe in you guys! :)

* * *

December 24th, Christmas Eve

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (5.27PM) [Russian timing 12.27PM]: mmm its probably only 12 \+ there,  how’s your christmas eve so far elicchi?

elicchi (´∀｀) (5.27PM) [Russian timing 12.27PM]: We’re having a Christmas Eve dinner later, right now I’m just getting ready to go out with my oba-sama to my favourite candy store :)

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (5.27PM) [Russian timing 12.27PM]: thats so cute

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (5.27PM) [Russian timing 12.27PM]: i can imagine you going crazy over chocolates, heheh 」(￣▽￣」)

elicchi (´∀｀) (5.28PM) [Russian timing 12.28PM]: Untrue!!!

elicchi (´∀｀) (5.28PM) [Russian timing 12.28PM]: Anyway, what are you going to do tonight? 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (5.28PM) [Russian timing 12.28PM]: nothing much, i’m just going to cook some nice food at home myself and watch my parent’s cruise food documentary that they just sent over 

elicchi (´∀｀) (5.28PM) [Russian timing 12.28PM]: Sounds lovely.

elicchi (´∀｀) (5.28PM) [Russian timing 12.28PM]: Have a great Christmas Eve, okay? :) 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (5.29PM) [Russian timing 12.29PM]: of course, u too elicchi (＾▽＾)

 

As soon as Eli puts down her phone, she knows that that won’t just be what Nozomi is doing for the night. With the secret chat group she has with the rest of the girls except Nozomi, she is aware that they will invade her house soon and celebrate Christmas Eve with her. No one should be alone on Christmas Eve after all, not Nozomi even.

* * *

Nozomi knows that her idea of cooking a ‘nice food’ at home is a lie. She is a daughter of chefs, so it’s fine for her to whip up anything scrumptious but honestly, good food will not taste nice if she’s alone. She has experienced that the past few christmas-es after all. Hence, she resorts to cooking a simple instant ramen, and puts the bowl on the dining table. As she sits down, facing the empty chair opposite of her, she smiles wearily.

“Itadakimasu. Merry Christmas Eve.” She says to herself. 

As she lifts up her chopstick to take the few strands of noodle, she pauses as she looks at her instant ramen. It is reminiscent of the time when Eli cooked instant udon when they had their mini udon cooking competition last time. No… Stop thinking too much, its unhealthy. 

With that, she turns on her television and boots up the video her parents has sent her and watches it while she eats as distraction. 

At the moment, she hears the ringing of a doorbell. She increases the volume of her television, wondering if it is coming from the video. It doesn’t seem to sound from there, and she then decreases the volume, and perks her ears up. The ringing continues, and Nozomi realises that it’s her own doorbell. But who could even visit at a time like this? When she opens her door, the sight of the four girls greet her. 

“Merry christmas eve!” They say in unison. 

“Why are all of you here?” Nozomi says, eyes wide in shock.

“To spend Christmas Eve with you!” Kotori answers enthusiastically. 

Honoka then peeks over Nozomi’s shoulder, and a crossed look overcomes her face. “Mou, that looks like a really sad Christmas Eve dinner.” 

Umi and Nico then hold up plastic bags they have on their hands. 

“We brought snacks and drinks!” Umi pipes up.

“And santa hats…” Nico says reluctantly. 

“I can’t believe this, all of you are going to spend Christmas with me?” Nozomi cups her hands to her mouth, grinning behind it. 

“Yes can you let us in now it’s freezing cold outside!” Nico whines.

“Of course, come in.” Nozomi smiles. 

She looks towards the dining table with two chairs by the opposite sides. 

“I guess I need more chairs now…” Nozomi says to herself, grinning widely. 

* * *

“Oh my god you didn’t tell me the candy store got extended into a cafe now!” Eli exclaims in delight as she takes in the refurnished interior of the candy store she used to frequent when she was a child.

“It’s just that you have never been home for so long, my dear Elichika.” Her grandmother answers in amusement. 

“You’re right.” Eli says, glazing over to the display cases with muffins and chocolate tarts. Her eyes widen as she looks at a chocolate-glazed cake. “They have ptasie mleczko cake now?!!” 

“Yes, it’s the christmas special.”

“Harasho! Ptasie mleczko is always my favourite candy, but they now have it in a form of cake!” 

“We’ll get it and eat here okay?” Her grandmother replies with a smile. 

* * *

“HARASHO, HARASHO!!!” Eli chants out loudly as she savours a single bite of the cake.

“Keep your voice down, Elichika, you’re a grown woman now.” 

Eli pouts lightly. “I’m only seventeen, oba-sama.” 

“You’re a growing woman.” Her grandmother insists with a frown. “And you have your own girlfriend, so you’re definitely growing up.”

“Mou… Oba-san, you really like to tease me with Nozomi huh?” 

Her grandmother shoots her a wink, and Eli sighs in defeat. Just then, her phone beeps to signal a notification and she opens it to see it is a message from her secret chat group with the girls. 

_Minami Kotori sends an attachment: PHOTO_

Eli opens the photo to see Umi, Nico, Honoka and Nozomi huddling together on her couch, with Kotori positioned slightly in front to take the selfie. They are all wearing matching santa hats, which is quite an endearing sight. From the picture she can see that there are plenty of food on the coffee table, and her expression softens as she zooms in to see the adorable smile on her girlfriend’s face. 

“Harasho.” Her grandmother breathes out from beside her. 

Startled, Eli drops her phone on the table. She picks it up and brushes it lightly, shooting her grandmother an annoyed look after.

“Why are you sneaking up on me, oba-sama!!!” 

“Oh? It’s nothing wrong for a grandmother to see how in love her granddaughter looks is there?”

Knowing there is no way to win her grandmother, Eli resorts to picking at another piece of her cake and putting it into her mouth with a grunt. 

“You miss her don’t you?”

“I do.” Eli admits. “But I’m more concerned because she has always been alone her whole life, and now that we’re together, we’re not going to spend Christmas together.” 

Her grandmother nods, prodding for her to go on.

“I know it’s silly to get worked up over that, but Christmas is a season of giving and spending time with your loved ones. It just makes me feel sad to think she will be alone again this year. I mean, I did ask her friends to go over and spend it with her, but I can’t help thinking that she’s concealing her feelings because I’m not there.” 

“Wow, my granddaughter thinks so highly of herself.” Her grandmother lets out a coarse giggle. 

“I-it’s not that! It’s just…” Eli puts another piece of cake into her mouth to hide her embarrassment. “I mean, we’re girlfriends… So we’re something special, you know.” 

“I understand what you mean, Elichika.” Her grandmother says, as she looks at her troubled granddaughter in adoration. 

“But it’s okay—”

“Here’s an early christmas present from me, my dear Elichika.” Eli’s words are cut off when her grandmother takes out a ticket and slides it in front of Eli. 

As she reads the contents of it, the chewing of her cake becomes slower, and her hands start to shiver. 

FROM: MOSCOW

TO: TOKYO, JPN

FLIGHT: NIHON AIRWAYS NHAD429

It is a plane ticket from Russia back to Tokyo, and the flight is slated to be in about eleven hours from now. 

“Oba-sama… This can’t be happening… What….?” 

“You can leave right after having our Christmas Eve dinner. I already discussed this with your mother and father.” 

“Wait, oka-san and oto-san knows about me and Nozomi?”

“That should be the least of your concern, Elichika.” Her grandmother places her hand on top of Eli’s shaking ones. “Your girlfriend should be the more concerning one.” 

* * *

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (12.03AM) [Russian timing 7.03PM]: it’s christmas over here already!!! merry christmas elicchi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (12.03AM) [Russian timing 7.03PM]: are u having ur christmas eve dinner now? i guess you are

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (12.03AM) [Russian timing 7.03PM]: today the girls surprised me at my house! i wish u were here with us too but its okay i had fun (*＾▽＾)／

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (1.57AM) [Russian timing 8.57PM]: where are u elicchi へ[ •́ ‸ •̀ ]ʋ 

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (2.23AM) [Russian timing 9.23PM]: you must be having fun, ill talk to you tomorrow

nozomi ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ (2.23AM) [Russian timing 9.23PM]: im going to sleep first, goodnight elicchi ♡

As Nozomi shut shuts off her phone and places it beside her on her bed, she grips onto her totoro soft toy and hugs it tightly as she curls up in fetal position. Eli is spending time with people she loves, it’s only normal she would be away from her phone. At least that’s what Nozomi keeps telling herself, until she feels tears marring the clarity of her vision. She sniffles, and shakes her head to herself. _No, it’s not fair if I cry. It will be selfish._

But the tears don’t stop, and on that Christmas night, she cries herself to sleep. Just like last year, and the years before. 

* * *

The next morning, Nozomi awakes to the sound of her ringtone on her phone. Rubbing her eyes wearily, she picks up the call without seeing who it is.

“Hello?” She says, still half-asleep. 

“Hello, Nozomi?” 

That voice. That sweet, gentle voice. 

“Elicchi?” Nozomi speaks up, feeling more awake now. 

“Did you just wake up?” 

“Yeah, I did.” The purple-haired giggles sleepily. 

“I’m sorry, I just need to ask something urgent.” 

“Hm? What is it Elicchi?” 

“Nozomi? I can’t hear you. Can you go to your living room where it’s quieter?”

“Ehh? But the air-conditioner is on in my room so there would be no fan to make any whirring noise.” 

“I really can’t hear you now, Nozomi.” 

Nozomi then gets out of bed, and proceeds to her living room, although she’s not quite sure what the difference will be. “I’m out now.” 

“Good. I can hear you now.” 

“What’s so urgent?” Nozomi asks. 

“Can you tell me about the lovers card, Nozomi?” 

“Eh? But didn’t I tell you before?” 

“Tell me again.” 

“The lovers card mean that—”

The ringing of a doorbell interrupts what Nozomi is about to say, and she shuffles over to the door while balancing the phone between her cheek and her shoulder. When she opens the door, she has to blink repeatedly, until she finally registers the sight in front of her. 

“Merry Christmas, Nozomi.” Eli stands in front of Nozomi’s front door, with the phone on her hand. 

“Elicchi…” Nozomi breathes out, transfixed by the sight. 

“Will you let me in? It’s pretty cold outside.”

Nozomi’s hands fumble around for her keys, and they shiver still went trying to open the door. Once it is unlocked, there is no longer a barrier between them and they are standing close to each other. 

“I’m sorry to turn up uninvited, and plus I don’t have a present with me.” Eli chuckles. 

Without any hesitation, Nozomi leans in boldly and presses her lips to Eli’s into a gentle, yet firm kiss. She grabs on to Eli’s face as if it’s the most prized thing in her hands, and caresses her cheek to make sure that the Eli in front of her is real. In return, Eli wraps her arms around Nozomi’s waist, bringing her closer to her as she deepens the kiss with her tongue. Her tongue then traces over Nozomi’s bottom lip, sucking it fervently. Between their faces, hot tears seem to come into contact, making their faces stick closer to each other. They release their kiss with a loud pop, and Eli giggles as her thumb swipes pass her girlfriend’s tears. 

“You’re so silly, Nozomi.” 

“My Christmas present… Is you.” Nozomi giggles, as she wipes away the remaining tears on her own. 

“And mine too.” Eli winks. 

“Actually…” Nozomi gazes at her with a knowing look. “I got you a present.”

“Where is it?” Eli leans in to her with an anticipatory glance. 

“I shipped it to Russia.” 

“What.” 

“Yeah, I ordered a portable chocolate fondue machine and had it shipped to Russia so you can use it with your family when you’re there. But now that you’re here…”

“What.” 

“Yeah, hehe.” Nozomi giggles, proud at herself for her effort.

Eli then turns toward the door, and looks back at Nozomi dramatically. “I’m going back to Russia. There’s a chocolate fondue machine waiting for me.” 

“ELICCHI!” 

* * *

OMAKE:

“What is this, a chocolate fondue machine?” Eli’s mother says, after unwrapping the purple-coloured wrapping paper from the mysterious present. 

“It says here from Toujou Nozomi…” The light blue eyes on Alisa light up instantly. “Nozomi onee-chan!!” 

“Oh my, but Elichika is back in Tokyo now…” Eli’s grandmother comments as she investigates the present with a cheeky smile. 

“Does this mean we have to bring it back for her?” Eli’s mother huffs as she take in the view of the rather large present, even though it’s said to be portable. 

* * *

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is technically the last chapter of this fic. The next chapter will be an epilogue, which I will post up soon. I can't believe I am actually done with this fic, and it has been an enjoyable ride indeed. I'm actually emotional (๑◕︵◕๑) Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when I first started this fic, because I just wanted to share some nozoeli fluff in my life but I have grown to love updating each chapter, until I'm where I am now. While this fic may not be the most in depth, and realistic fic, I appreciate everyone who gave kudos, bookmarked and most importantly, commented on the fic! It makes me really happy to read each comment, and it motivates me to write more :D 
> 
> This isn't the end though, because I have another nozoeli fic in store and I'm very excited to share it with you! I'm kind of known for being too indulgent on the fluff with my fics (I written for another wlw fandom on fanfiction.net before and trust me, they are all hella fluffy) so I really want to indulge in something more serious, and storyline-heavy this time with my new fic. I already have 2 chapters written in my documents so far, and I will post it up really soon. Hint: It's a crossover OK THATS ALL. (Not much hint tbh HAHAHA) 
> 
> Well, see you in the epilogue for this fic, and then see you in my new fic too! ( ´ ▽ ` )b


	20. Chapter 20

20\. If you like me, just say you like me.

 

Epilogue~

April, 2017.

“Stop it Elicchi, you’re giving me a headache…” Nozomi sighs, looking at the frantic blonde who is pacing forward and backward as she seems to be in a trance, muttering several Russian words.

Nozomi and Eli are at the backstage of the hall, waiting for their turn to go on stage to address the whole school as part of their student council duty. It is Spring, and the new first years have arrived to Otonokizaka, while the both of them are promoted to the third and final year in school. 

“I can’t relax! I never thought this day would come! I thought the school was going to close down, but I never expected so many applicants that they would keep the school open!” Eli sputters in a nervous ramble. 

“Elicchi.” Nozomi’s tone, while sounding sweet, is delivered in a different inflection and Eli knows from dating her for more than 6 months that this is her warning voice. 

Eli gulps, stopping in her tracks and turns to face her girlfriend. 

“Come here.” Nozomi says, reaching out to Eli. 

“Ehhh? What?” Eli hisses in a whisper, as she looks around them to see if anyone is near them. Fortunately for them, Principal Minami is currently on stage delivering her Principal’s speech, so only Nozomi and Eli are left alone. With that, Eli steps closer to her girlfriend, holding her hand and letting Nozomi pull her into her lap. 

Eli’s face adorns a red blush as she feels the warmth of being in her girlfriend’s lap, and with her face so up close, it doesn’t relieve her heavy, thumping heart at all. There’s no denying that although they have been in a relationship for a while now, Nozomi always manages to make Eli shy, even with the simplest actions. Sometimes she hates her for it, but most of the times she would rather be embarrassed and shy than to be denied of her girlfriend’s affections. 

“Hey, you’re amazing okay?” Nozomi said sweetly, rubbing Eli’s back up and down affectionately. “The school wouldn’t have continued to operate if not for you.” 

“Mou…” Eli drawls out. “I wasn’t alone. You were there to help me too.” 

“Heh heh, I guess that’s true. We make a good team.” 

“Of course!” Eli pipes up, putting her hands around the neck of Nozomi and pulling her in closer to her. “A president needs her vice-president after all.” 

“Aw, Elicchi is always so cheesy~” Nozomi coos, inhaling Eli’s scent as she moves to her lips, teasing her bottom lip with her tongue.

Knowing the purple-haired is relentless in being a huge tease, Eli decides to play her game and return the favour by lowering her position of her hands till she could feel Nozomi’s bra strap against the material of the school uniform, and tugs at it, releasing it firmly till it snaps back with a loud sound effect. 

“Woah Elicchi how could you! We’re at a school!” 

The strange thing is, Nozomi hasn’t said a thing. And that certainly wasn’t Nozomi’s voice, especially with how weird the “Elicchi” sounded. The two of them then look back, and see that they are no longer alone. The new people who have entered the backstage are Honoka, Nico, Kotori and Umi. Among them, Honoka has on the cheekiest grin on her face, and that’s all that Nozomi and Eli needs to know to see who impersonated Nozomi’s voice. 

“Why are you two here?” Eli says, hopping out of Nozomi’s lap. 

“Mouuuu, Eli-chan! Did you forget we have our idol performance after your speech? You are supposed to introduce us at the end later on too!” Honoka pouts, and sticks her tongue out at the blonde. 

“Oh…” Eli mumbles, as she looks at Honoka and Nico, the founding members of the idol club, and then at Kotori and Umi, who finally joined early this January after much persuading from a very persistent ginger-haired girl. All of them are in Alice in Wonderland themed costumes, and Eli has to admit that with Kotori’s eye for costume design, it has certainly helped the idol club with improving their costumes to use for live shows. 

“Don’t worry, if Elicchi ever forgets, I’m going to smack her head on stage until she remembers!” Nozomi teases, winking at her girlfriend. 

“Mou, Nozomi! Stop beng so childish!” 

Just then, the sounds of applause interrupt the backstage commotion, and Eli can feel the anxiety crawling back into her knowing that it’s now her turn to go up and speak. 

“Ganbatte Eli and Nozomi-chan!” Kotori cheers excitedly, as Nozomi and Eli wait for their cue to go to the stage. 

Meanwhile, Eli begins to erupt into a litany of Russian gibberish again, most probably from her nerves. 

Once Principal Minami returns backstage, the two of them walk up on stage, with the spotlights shining on them. Eli stands in front of the podium, while Nozomi stands beside her, only further behind by a bit. 

The sea of Otonokizaka students greet her, and although she is feeling extremely nerve-wracking at the moment, the sight of girls with blue ribbons gives her an exhilarating feeling. It’s true, there really are new first-years. Her oba-sama will be so proud of her. 

“Good morning students and teachers, I am Ayase Eli, a third-year student and President of the student council.” She then looks over to Nozomi, and smiles. “And with me I have Toujou Nozomi, my fellow student council Vice-President.” 

* * *

“With that, I would like to wish everyone a good school year ahead! Thank you very mu— OW!”

Eli rubs at her head as she realises that Nozomi has just smacked her on her head, right in front of the whole school. She looks on embarrassingly as the students have on rather confused expressions on their faces, and she gives a crooked smile as she holds the mic to her mouth again. “I’m sorry, I would also like to introduce our school’s very own idol club, who will be kickstarting the new school year with their very own school idol performance!” 

Once Nozomi and Eli return backstage, Eli shoots her a menacing glare as she continues to rub at her head. 

“Heheh, I told ya I will do it!” Nozomi mentions gleefully, unbothered by her girlfriend’s negative reaction. 

“We have to go, see you soon Nozomi and Eli-chan!” Honoka calls out as she runs onto stage, with the other three following her behind. 

The four of them stands in formation on stage, as the music starts to cue in. They receive a number of excited cheers from the students, as most of them are aware of the school idol club due to their public performances before, which could also attribute to their interest in joining Otonokizaka. 

“I’m so proud of our underclassmen.” Eli stares at them in awe, as they start dancing and singing. 

“Ooh, are you calling Nico an underclassman too? She will not be pleased if she knows that.” Nozomi says.

“You better not snitch on me, Nozomi.” Eli narrows her eyes at her. 

“Heheh, we’ll see.” 

* * *

The next round of applauses chime in after their idol performance, but before they exit out into the backstage, Nozomi and Eli can see Nico start to take center stage, hogging the microphone in her hand.

“Oh no, what is Nicocchi doing now…” Nozomi mutters, shaking her head to herself. 

“I know there’s a very cute redhead girl who joined Otonokizaka too! Show yourself, tell me your name! Nico-Nii would like to know you and give you all of my hearto!” Nico shouts into her microphone, and they can see that Kotori, Umi and Honoka are face palming behind her. 

“She’s sure an airhead when she’s not forcing herself with her tsundere act isn’t she…” Eli face palms herself too, feeling hugely embarrassed for her classmate. 

“Let her be.” Nozomi giggles. “Sometimes love and attraction can make people do silly things.” 

“Yeah, like sending my chocolate fondue machine to Russia?” Eli shoots back, not forgetting what happened last christmas when her girlfriend shipped her christmas present to Russia, just when Eli came back to Tokyo on her own. 

“Hey, that wasn’t silly! I was doing it out of consideration.” Nozomi pouts lightly. 

“But, chocolate fondue machine…” Eli sighs, and slumps her shoulders in defeat. 

* * *

Back in class, Nozomi and Eli claim the same seating arrangement they used to have in their second year, with Eli behind and Nozomi in front. To Eli, she enjoys looking at the back view of her purple-haired girlfriend working hard in front of her, while Nozomi likes the fact that Eli is always behind, watching over her.

The sensei walks in, signalling the start of english class. However, Nozomi can feel herself panicking because she has forgotten to pick up her reserved copy of her english textbook before class started, so she is left with nothing on her table. Behind her, Eli shakes her head at the sight of the emptiness on Nozomi’s table, and just like the first time they met in class in their second year, Eli reaches forward and taps on Nozomi’s back. 

Nozomi spins around, a guilty look adorning her face. 

“Mou, Nozomi…” Eli sighs heavily. “Do you want to share my textbook?” 

“Sorry for the trouble.” Nozomi winks. She then pulls her chair to sit by Eli’s table, and Eli pushes her textbook closer to Nozomi so the both of them can have a good look at it together. 

“Do you need help with english?” Nozomi teases, holding up a new totoro-stylised notebook that she has gotten before the school semester started. 

“I actually do not need help, but for nostalgia’s sake, I would like you to teach me this portion of it.” Eli points to the page on her textbook.

“Hai!” Nozomi agrees, and whips out her pencil to starting writing on her notepad. 

“So, synonyms for the word love.” Nozomi says. “There are also words with the same meaning like infatuation, fondness, adoration, tenderness and—”

“Nozomi.” Eli calls out, interrupting Nozomi.

“Hm?” Nozomi looks back at Eli, cocking her head in wonder. 

“Nozomi.” Eli repeats.

“What?” 

“Seriously…” Eli beetles her forehead in frustration. “If I have to explain this to you it would lose its effect already.” 

“No, I don’t know. Why do you keep saying my name?” 

“Because…” Eli blushes. “You are love.” 

“Oooooooooh.” Nozomi coos, leaning in to her girlfriend with a sly grin. “That’s very cheesy, but very suave too…” 

“Mou! I thought you would have caught on to it earlier.” Eli huffs. 

“Heheh it’s okay, hearing that still made me very happy~” 

“TEEN LESBIANS!” A voice called out from the front of the class. 

“W-w-what?” Eli stammers, as she looks back at the female sensei who is glaring at them. 

“While I appreciate you both helping each other in english, I will have to stop your skin-ship over there.” 

Much to Eli and Nozomi’s embarrassment, the other girls in the other class doesn’t seem in the least offended by it, because they are already aware of the romantic relationship that their student council president and vice-president already share. 

“I’m sorry…” A red-faced Eli murmurs apologetically. 

“Sensei, I’m sorry too, but please allow me to introduce a new synonym for the word love!” Nozomi pipes up. 

The sensei adjusts her spectacles, and looks at Nozomi with a nod of her head. “Go on.” 

“Elicchi,” is all that Nozomi says. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand this is the end! What a journey it has been! (I'm being so dramatic aren't I, haha) I posted this story one year ago, and here I am, ending it today! I know I already addressed a lot of things in my notes in the previous chapter, but I just want to reiterate again that I'm very VERY thankful for all the support for this fic! Be it a kudo, bookmark or a nice comment, it makes me very happy and I don't regret ever setting up an AO3 account just to share my love for NozoEli in writing form. Part of it can also be because I miss u's a lot, so this is one of my only happy haven where I got to reminisce a lot, besides re-watching the anime series and live shows. 
> 
> I honestly don't know why I sound like I'm giving an acceptance speech, but anyway to conclude, thank you very much, you readers! I still have an ongoing fic, so give it a read if you would like! :D


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